BY ANTONIO HENDERSON
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Union County High School’s defense held the normally high-scoring Hawthorne Hornets to just 14 points through most of the game, but the Tigers couldn’t put any scores on the board in a 28-0 loss to the number-two team in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s Class 1R power rankings on Oct. 13 in Hawthorne.
The Hornets (7-0), who entered the game averaging 42 points per game, scored twice in the game’s final six minutes.
Union (3-3), which travels to play Santa Fe on Friday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m., received the ball first and was gifted 5 yards on the first play of the game when the Hornets were penalized for being offsides. Running back Thomas Williams, after being stopped for no gain, ran for 3 yards to make it third-and-2. Hawthorne’s stingy defense, which is allowing eight points per game, was looking for a three-and-out, but the Tigers went to big back Johnte Nichols, who broke a couple of tackles for a 5-yard gain and a first down. A flag for unnecessary roughness added 15 yards to Nichols’ run.
The Tigers went back to Williams on back-to-back plays, but the Hawthorne defense was on him, stopping him for no gain on each carry. On third-and-10, quarterback Trenton Klein threw to Gavin Jenkins for a 6-yard gain. Union decided not to go for it and got a great punt from Deonte Jones. The ball was downed at the Hawthorne 5-yard line.
Running back Keenon Johnson broke for an 8-yard gain on Hawthorne’s first play. Quarterback C.J. Ingram then threw a pass to a wide-open Andrew Zock for 25 yards. The Hornets went back to Johnson for a 5-yard gain before handing it off to Alvon Isaac for a 7-yard gain. A flag for holding, however, resulted in Hawthorne having a second-and-15 play.
Union’s Jimmy Cox, who had to sit out three games due to injury, tried to get the defense going with a big tackle for no gain. The Hornets went back to the air, with Mathew McKinley-Daniels making a catch for 16 yards. Ingram then recovered a high snap, but Brycen Boney and Blake McCoy made a great tackle for a 5-yard loss. Klein came up with a tackle on third down to make it fourth-and-2. Hawthorne’s offense stayed on the field, with Ingram calling his own number for a 4-yard gain.
The Hornets were penalized for a false start on the next play. Union’s Anthony Holmes then stuffed the hole as Hawthorne gained just 3 yards on a run play. Isaac gained 8 yards to set up third-and-4. The Tigers held the Hornets to no gain, but Hawthorne went for it on fourth-and-2 at the start of the second quarter. Ingram completed a pass to Johnson, who was tackled by a host of Tigers. A penalty for a late hit, however, gave Hawthorne a first down. Johnson then went right up the middle for a 10-yard touchdown. The Hornets added the extra point for a 7-0 lead with 11:40 to play in the second quarter.
Union’s offense couldn’t get anything going and punted back to the Hornets. Hawthorne went back to workhorse Johnson, but a host of Tigers stopped him for a 1-yard gain. Caleb Rollerson made an 8-yard catch before Johnson picked up a first down on a 1-yard run. Isaac and Johnson each had 2-yard runs to set up third-and-6 with 5:52 remaining until halftime. Ingram threw a hitch to McKinley-Daniels, who broke a tackle and took it 30 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead after the extra point.
Each team then had a three-and-out series, with a big hit by Jenkins forcing an incomplete pass and a Hawthorne punt. The Union offense, however, still couldn’t get anything going and punted again after another three-and-out series.
A short punt set Hawthorne up at the Union 32. An 8-yard catch by Isaac was called back for a block in the back. On first-and-20, Ingram overthrew a wide-open Darian Bowie with 51 seconds left in the half. The Hornets’ quarterback tried to go deep again, but Dayquan Diston broke up a pass intended for McKinley-Daniels. Ingram tried to scramble out of the pocket on third down, but was forced out of bounds for just a 2-yard gain. An incomplete pass on fourth down resulted in a turnover on downs.
The Tigers tried to run the ball up the middle, but a fumble was recovered by Hawthorne with 19 seconds on the clock.
Jenkins broke up a pass on the following series to help keep it a 14-0 game at the half.
Hawthorne had the ball first in the second half, but after a 15-yard catch by Rollerson, the Hornets fumbled the snap, with the Tigers recovering.
Klein called his own number, trying to get the offense rolling with a run of 9 yards. The Tigers tried to keep it on the ground with Williams, but he was held to no gain, making it third-and-1. Williams got another attempt, but the Hawthorne defense was ready, making
another tackle for no gain. Union decided to go for it on fourth down, with Klein rushing for 7 yards and a first down.
Three plays later, Hawthorne was penalized for pass interference, giving the Tigers another first down. Drew Simmons got his turn to run the ball, but he was held to a 1-yard gain. Klein then had two carries of 5 yards each for another first down.
Williams followed with a 5-yard gain of his own before Bobo Woodall was held to no gain. Klein threw a 12-yard pass to Woodall to keep the promising drive going. The next two plays, however, resulted in no yards. After an incomplete pass, the Tigers decided to go for it on fourth-and-10, but another incompletion gave the ball to the Hornets.
The Tigers’ defense responded by forcing Hawthorne to go three-and-out.
Union’s next offensive series, which began in the fourth quarter, started with a 6-yard gain by Klein. Two plays later, Simmons was held to a 1-yard gain, setting up fourth-and-3. The Tigers went for it, with Klein passing to McCoy for a 6-yard gain and a first down. An unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty after the play backed Union up 15 yards. The Tigers couldn’t get anything going on the next three plays and punted with 9:19 to play.
Again, the Tigers’ offense got the ball back after the defense forced another three-and-out. Klein rushed for 6 yards before going deep to Jenkins for a 40-yard pass play. The next play, however, was an interception in the end zone by Hawthorne’s Jordin Fluellen.
The Hornets’ Johnson broke loose for an 80-yard touchdown with 6:18 to play. With the extra point, Hawthorne led 21-0.
Union turned the ball over on downs on its next drive. The Hawthorne offense then got catches of 30 and 4 yards by Isaac. Ingram went Isaac’s way again for a 20-yard touchdown with one minute remaining.
Klein led the Tigers in rushing with 55 yards on eight carries. He completed 8 of 21 passes for 107 yards, with Jenkins making three receptions for 59 yards.
McCoy caught three passes for 36 yards.
Klein also led the defense in tackles with nine. Nichols and Ashton Newsom each had five tackles.
Union now plays a struggling Class 2S team in Santa Fe. The Raiders (0-7) are coming off a bye.
