BY CECE THOMAS
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
The Union County Tigers hosted the Baker County Wildcats in a kickoff classic on Aug. 16, with the game ending in a 14-14 tie.
Union trailed 14-7 before tying tying the score in the fourth quarter with junior varsity player Elijah Llanes’ touchdown run and Carter Whitehead’s PAT.
Head Coach Andrew Thomas said the game “started off with just some assignment issues the first couple of series on defense” and added that the “execution on offense was a lot of missed assignments.”
“It’s a preseason game, and we are going to have mistakes,” he said. “It was a good test for us, and we will get better from it as we get ready to start the regular season.”
Union and Baker have been competing against each other in the preseason game for the last four years. The games always prove to be good competition for both teams, showing their strengths and areas they need to work on.
Union, which travels to play Yulee in the regular-season opener on Friday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m., is coming off an 8-4 season, with the Tigers going all the way to the regional finals (third round of the playoffs). This is Head Coach Andrew Thomas’s fifth year.
Baker finished the 2023 football season with an 8-4 record as well. The Wildcats also made it deep into the playoffs.
The Tigers’ captains for the preseason game were Gavin Jenkins, Jesse Chaikin, Trenton Klein, and Garett Jackson, while the Wildcats’ captain was Phillip Jackson. The Wildcats won the toss and elected to receive the ball in the first half.
Baker gained a first down at its 38-yard line, but Union’s C.J. Ivey pushed back, making the Wildcats lose yardage before quarterback Hudson Register hit Hudson Hodges on a bubble screen for short yardage. On third-and-
long, Register handed the ball off to Chase Phillips on a jet sweep as he gained 30 yards from Baker’s 39 to Union’s 31-yard line. After a facemask penalty on the Tigers, the Wildcats’ offense ran several hard, inside runs and got a hard-fought touchdown with 7:53 left in the first quarter. Baker’s PAT was good, making the score 7-0.
Union started the next drive at its own 25-yard line. A flag was received by the Wildcats for being offsides. On a third-down play, quarterback Trenton Klein hands the ball off to Ashton Newsom, with a big gain resulting in a first down for the Tigers at Baker’s 31-yard line. The Tigers received a 15-yard flag for a facemask, but Klein, on third down, completed a tough pass to Alec McClellon that gained 22 yards. The Tigers were inside the 10 and had an opportunity to score, but mistakes led to a fourth-down fumble. The Wildcats took over on their own 13-yard line.
Baker started out the second quarter with a flag. Later, the Tigers received a Wildcats punt at their own 35-yard line.
Between the teams, flags were thrown every which way, but Klein evaluated Baker’s defense and got the Tigers into Baker territory. On third down, Jenkins ran a jet sweep and was a yard short of making a first down. Klein ran a quarterback power to move the chains. On the next two plays, Klein, on keepers, obtained another Tigers first down at the 20. After an incomplete pass to Jenkins on a third-down play, Klein was pressured and sacked on fourth down, with Baker taking over.
The third quarter began with Bryan Tyson at quarterback for the Tigers and running back Drew Simmons gaining a first down at the 44-yard line. Bo Thomas, on a counter carry, made a tough run for a first down. Wyatt Elixson picked up 2 yards on a trap. The Tigers received a 10-yard penalty for holding. Simmons was close to picking up a first down on a third-down play before a tackle by the Wildcats’ Kason Crews led to fourth down.
The Wildcats’ offense, which benefitted from a holding penalty against the Tigers, faced a third-down play on which it made no gain. Baker’s quarterback completed a pass to Kenais Williams, but he was tackled by defensive back Chaikin short of the first down, with the Tigers’ offense taking over.
On the second play of the following series, Simmons scored on a long run with 1:24 left in the third quarter. Whitehead’s extra point made it a 7-7 tie.
It was the start of a 2-for-2 night on extra points for Whitehead.
“I mean, I was pretty nervous at the start… My legs were shaking a little bit, but I did it in the end,” Whitehead said.
Baker’s quarterback swept up the middle, making a first down at the 30-yard line. He later fumbled the ball, but quickly recovered for a loss as the third quarter came to an end.
The fourth quarter started with a bang, with the Tigers’ Elixson sacking the Wildcats’ quarterback.
Union took over on offense, but a fumble on a run gave the ball back to Baker at midfield.
After several good runs, the Wildcats scored another touchdown. The extra point was good, bringing the score to 14-7 in favor of Baker.
Union’s junior varsity players entered the game, with quarterback Colt Thomas handing off to Llanes, resulting in a first down. Kiptyn Shuler had a carry up the middle. Thomas then tossed the ball to Llanes, who made a great cut-back run to give the Tigers another touchdown. Whitehead kicked the extra point tying up the score at 14-14.
Baker took over offensively. The Tigers got a tackle by Shuler and later called a timeout after an offsides flag.
Both sides had incomplete passes as the game wound down, with Union’s Akireon Boykin intercepting a pass to end the game with a 14-14 tie.
The Tigers finished with 303 yards of offense, with 274 yards rushing on 43 attempts and 29 yards passing on two completions out of nine attempts.
If you’re unable to make it to the regular-season opener at Yulee, you can listen to the call on WUCR-LP (107.9 FM) or via streaming at tigerstreamradiofl.com.
