BY CECE THOMAS
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
The Union County Tigers added another win to their record, putting together a great game plan and doing a good job on the field in defeating visiting Zarephath Academy 47-14 on Oct. 4.
Zarephath (7-1) was thought to be a tough opponent, but the Tigers outscored the Eagles 40-6 in the first half in improving their record to 6-0.
Union Head Coach Andrew Thomas had some good things to say about the homecoming win.
“I thought we handled distractions well,” Thomas said. “This is a high-scoring team, and I think we handled it well, and the defense played really well. They challenged us physically, and we knew we would have to win on the line of scrimmage on both sides, and we pulled through with this win.”
The Tigers, who are first in the Florida High School Athletic Association/MaxPreps Rural Class power rankings, received the opening kickoff, which rolled out of bounds at the 42-yard line. With the 5-yard penalty, the Tigers started at their own 47, but a penalty on them put them back to the 42. Running back Drew Simmons gained back the penalty yardage and then made about an 8-yard gain on another carry. On third down, Alec McClellan got enough yardage for a first down at the Eagles’ 41. Simmons took a handoff and picked up a couple of yards. Ashton Newsom got the carry on second down and picked up the first down.
Simmons, who rushed for 136 yards on 17 carries, then took it into the end zone for the first of his three touchdowns. The two-point conversion was good, putting the Tigers up 8-0 with nine minutes left in the first quarter.
After bobbling the kickoff back and forth, the Eagles recovered and started a drive at their own 40. A flag for being offsides left them needing 15 yards to pick up a first down. A pass was caught for big yardage, but an illegal-formation call brought the play back. A completed pass gained about 5 yards, but the next pass attempt was almost intercepted as it grazed off the fingertips of Gavin Jenkins. On third-and-15, a pass was tipped away from the
intended receiver by Jesse Chaikin. The Eagles punted, with the Tigers taking over at their own 45-yard line.
McClellan had a big run, bouncing off a couple of tackles and gaining a first down at the Eagles’ 45. A C.J. Ivey run set up second-and-3. Ivey, on another handoff, had a big run for first down. Simmons had a big play, carrying the ball for a first down at the 15-yard line. He then took the ball in for another touchdown with three minutes left in the first quarter. A pass-interference call on the two-point play resulted in half the distance being marked off. The Tigers lined up for two again, with Ivey taking the ball into the end zone to make the score now 16-0.
The Eagles fumbled the Jenkins kickoff again, but recovered, taking over at their own 38-yard line. The Eagles ran the ball and picked up a first down at the Union 47. After a 2-yard gain, a penalty made it second-and-13. Zarephath then scored a touchdown on a pass completion with 2:30 left in the first quarter. The two-point conversion failed, making the score 18-6.
With the second quarter underway, Simmons took a handoff on a third-down play and got a first down at the Eagles’ 26-yard line. After Newsom was tripped up for no gain, Simmons carried the ball into the end zone for his final score. The Tigers set up for another two-point conversion, with Ivey taking it in, making the score 24-6.
Bryan Tyson made a good tackle for a 5-yard gain on a third-and-14 play, forcing the Eagles to punt, with the ball rolling to a stop at the Tigers’ 42. A personal-foul penalty on the Tigers, however, had them starting the drive at their own 35.
Ivey carried for about a 5-yard gain on first down and then fumbled on second down. The Tigers recovered. On third-and-5, Simmons got the carry and produced a big run for a first down at the Eagles’ 48-yard line. Ivey had a hard carry straight up the middle for another first down at the 34. A huge pass play from Trenton Klein to Jenkins was good for a touchdown with five minutes left in the second quarter. McClellan carried it in on the two-point conversion, making the score 32-6.
Jenkins had a good kickoff, with the Eagles returning it to their own 38. A pass play was completed, but Ibn Williams made the tackle for only a 5-yard gain. The Eagles fumbled on second down, with Chaikin recovering for the Tigers at the Eagles’ 34-yard line.
A Newsom carry picked up about 8 yards. Klein, on a keeper, picked up huge yardage and a first down at the 6-yard line. After a 5-yard carry by Simmons, Klein completed a 1-yard touchdown pass to Tyson with two minutes left in the first half. The two-point conversion was good, with the Tigers leading 40-6.
Jenkins’ kickoff to start the second half went out of bounds, with the Eagles taking over at their own 35. The Eagles faced a third-and-2 play, which they converted on a quarterback keeper around left end. That put them at the Union 32.
A completed pass play on which the receiver broke two tackles gave the Eagles a first down at the 19. Zarephath was then flagged for being offsides. The quarterback rolled out to pass, but was sacked by Klein for a huge loss. On second-and-26, Newsom almost had a sack before the quarterback got the pass off. The receiver slipped as he caught the ball. After a penalty for delay of game, Newsom almost sacked the quarterback again, but the Eagles got the pass off, with the receiver getting almost all of the penalty yardage back.
Zarephath completed a pass on fourth-and-short, but a Klein tackle kept the Eagles from getting the first down. Union’s offense took over at its own 19.
Simmons broke several tackles and dragged about five defenders in picking up a first down. Bo Thomas then got the handoff and picked up about 8 yards. Klein threw a backward pass to Tyson, who then attempted to complete a pass to Jenkins. The pass grazed off his fingertips.
Union would pick up a first down at the Eagles’ 49 on an illegal-substitution penalty. Wyatt Elixson made great yardage on a carry to the 34. Elixson picked up another first down on a play on which the Eagles were penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, leading to a player ejection. The penalty moved the ball to the 12-yard line.
Klein, who was 3 of 3 for 49 yards, completed a touchdown pass to Newsom with five minutes to go in the third quarter. The extra-point kick by Carter Whitehead was good, making the score 47-6.
With the game in the fourth quarter and with a running clock, the Eagles picked up a first down at the Union 20 on a short run. The Eagles then completed a pass for a 9-yard gain before a run up the middle resulted in first-and-goal at the 6. The Union defense made stops for no gain on first and second down, with Jenkins making a tackle on a reverse on second down. The quarterback was almost sacked on third down, with the Tigers being penalized for pass interference. That set up third down at the 3. The Eagles scored on fourth down, making the two-point conversion for the final score of 47-14.
Tyson led the Tigers’ defense in tackles with eight. Four players had four tackles each: Chaikin, Klein, Newsom and Jaden McCray.
Union returns to action with a home game against Trinity Catholic on Friday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m.
