BY ANTONIO HENDERSON
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Gavin Jenkins returned two interceptions for touchdowns, while quarterback Trenton Klein threw for two scores and rushed for another in the Union County High School football team’s 58-8 win over visiting Hilliard in a Region 3-1R quarterfinal game on Nov. 10.
Hilliard, which was the sixth seed in the region, was no match for the third seed Tigers, who scored seven touchdowns in the first half and amassed 455 total yards.
Union (7-3) now travels to play second seed Fort White (9-1) in the Region 3 semifinals on Friday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m.
The start of the game went Hilliard’s way, with the Tigers fumbling on the return of the opening kickoff. The Flashes (3-8) recovered, but their first offensive play resulted in no gain as Union’s Connor Bresee ripped through the offensive line for a tackle. A host of Tigers then tackled Braydon Holley in the backfield for a 1-yard loss. On third down, Union brought the pressure, with Thomas Williams coming up with a sack.
Hilliard decided to go for it on fourth down, but lost 5 yards on a penalty for delay of game. The Flashes punted.
The Tigers started their first offensive drive with a 3-yard Williams run. Klein then found Bobo Woodall for a 30-yard screen play. Then, after a 7-yard run by Williams, Klein, who rushed for 46 yards on three carries, called his own number for a 36-yard touchdown run, making the score 6-0 with 8:06 to play in the first quarter. The extra point was no good.
After its defense forced a three-and-out, the Tigers’ second offensive series began with a 13-yard run by Woodall. The Flashes were then caught off guard with a play-action pass, with Klein completing a 45-yard pass to a wide-open Blake McCoy for a touchdown. Jonathan Edwards kicked the extra point for a 13-0 lead with 5:15 left in the first quarter.
Hilliard’s offense tried to get its pass game going, but Jenkins had other plans, picking off a pass for a touchdown. After Edwards’ PAT, the score was 20-0 with 5:01 to play in the first quarter.
The Tigers’ defense continued its strong play. Jacob Jenkins had a tackle for a 6-yard loss, while Bresee and Jimmy Cox teamed up to hold Holley to a 4-yard gain. A penalty for delay of game then put the Flashes into a third-and-19 situation. Hilliard went to its workhorse Holley for a 25-yard gain on a screen pass. The Flashes went back to the pass on the next play, but Johnte Nichols picked it off for Union.
Thomas got the Tigers’ next series started with runs of 7 and 10 yards. Union decided to stay on the ground, with Drew Simmons picking up 9 yards. The runs opened up the passing game, resulting in Woodall catching a 30-yard touchdown pass from Klein with 47 seconds still left in the first quarter. Edwards added the PAT for a 27-0 lead.
Woodall finished with three catches for 87 yards.
Rocco Mirando completed passes for gains of 6, 13 and 4 yards for Hilliard. An incomplete pass set up third-and-6. Mirando gained 3 yards on a sneak. Hilliard then lined up to try to get the Tigers to jump offsides on fourth down, but the Flashes had no such luck, so they called time out to draw up a new play. Mirando completed a 28-yard pass to Ethan Garland, with a facemask penalty adding extra yardage and giving the Flashes first-and-goal.
Union’s defense then got a big hit from Klein for no gain. After an incomplete pass on second down, the Tigers blitzed, with Klein coming up with a sack for a loss of 13 yards. Erich Seager brought pressure on the fourth-down play, forcing Mirando into a quick throw that was broken up by Cox.
The Tigers’ offense then went to work and scored the team’s fifth touchdown. The drive began with a 3-yard run by Simmons and a 19-yard reception by McCoy. McCoy, who had three receptions for 80 yards, caught another pass on a screen play for a gain of 16 yards, but a holding penalty brought the play back. Klein had consecutive runs for a total gain of 10 yards to pick up a first down. The quarterback then threw a pass to Ashton Newsome, who broke multiple tackles for a hard gain of 10 yards, but penalties on each team resulted in a do-over.
Simmons had an 18-yard run and then got the handoff again for an 11-yard touchdown with 4:22 to play in the second quarter. The extra point was good for a 34-0 lead.
Jenkins came up with his second pick-six on the following series, returning the ball 45 yards and giving the Tigers, after the extra point, a 41-0 lead with 3:58 left until halftime.
The Flashes would come up with a big play when Mirando completed a 27-yard pass to Garland. A fumbled snap, though, resulted in Williams making a tackle for a 5-yard loss. A false-start penalty backed Hilliard up another 5 yards. On second-and-20, Williams came up with a tackle for no gain. A penalty for delay of game had the Flashes facing third-and-25. Garland came up with a 13-yard reception. Hilliard went for it on fourth down, but an incomplete pass resulted in a turnover on downs with 35 seconds remaining in the first half.
That was enough time for the Tigers to score again. Klein saw that Ibn Williams was open, throwing him the ball for a 33-yard gain. Klein spiked the ball with 10 seconds on the clock. The quarterback, who went 9 of 12 for 223 yards, then went right back to Ibn Williams, who rewarded him with a 12-yard touchdown. With the extra point, the score stood at 48-0.
Williams finished with the two catches for 45 yards.
Hilliard had possession to start the second half, but Deonte Jones came up with the Tigers’ fourth interception.
Union’s younger offense couldn’t pick up a first down, so the Tigers went to Edwards (“The Leg”) for a 33-yard field-goal attempt that was good, putting the Tigers up 51-0.
The Flashes’ Earl Moore returned the following kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. Mirando’s keeper on the two-point conversion was good, making the score 51-8.
Simmons, who rushed for 132 yards on eight carries, got the ball a handful of times on the Tigers’ next series, breaking his last run for a 57-yard touchdown. Edwards added the PAT for the final point of the night.
Klein and Thomas Williams led the defense in tackles with five each. Cox and Nichols each had four.
