BY JADEE O’STEEN
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Host Newberry was favored, but the Union County High School football team debunked sportswriters’ predictions by showing up big time on both sides of the ball in a 45-0 win on Sept. 23.
Senior running back Rayvon Durant had quite an exciting game once again for the Tigers, who improved to 3-1 and were ranked number four in Class 1R in the Florida High School Athletic Association’s inaugural rankings released Sept. 27. He had a total of 302 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He and quarterback A.J. Cortese, a fellow senior, worked well together on the offensive side of the ball.
“The offensive line really did their assignment,” Cortese said, adding, “They made it happen and opened up a lot of holes for us.”
The quarterback said he and his teammates repped a lot of plays during practice and were prepared when it was time to finally face the Panthers (3-1).
Cortese completed 67 percent of his passes, finishing with 89 yards and scoring a touchdown. He claimed that this was one of the Tigers’ best games this season — offensively and defensively.
Senior Daylyn Diston had quite a game also, with a pick-six that covered 105 yards. It was the longest interception in school history.
“I was waiting all night, and I guess I had to get it done on defense”, said Diston, who plays both sides of the ball at slot receiver and free safety.
The Panthers, who were also intercepted by senior Auntrell Ross, mostly passed throughout the game. Diston explained that’s what the Tigers expected.
“We played zone defense a lot tonight, sat on it, and read it,” he said.
The Panthers weren’t able to make much work when they had the ball. The Tigers showed up big time with a total of 33 tackles. Five of those were made by junior Thomas Williams. The team had a total of four sacks and two interceptions.
Senior Markus Strong and juniors James Cox and Jacob Jenkins all had multiple tackles for loss.
Senior linebacker Dalton Lane, who had three tackles, explained that the shut out was personal for his team. The Tigers and the Panthers look forward to facing each other every season as they are both in the same class.
“This is a big rival for us”, Lane said, adding, “We played physical, and they couldn’t handle it.”
Union was scheduled to play fellow Class 1R team Wildwood on Friday, Sept. 30, in Wildwood, but the game won’t take place due to the threat of Hurricane Ian. The Tigers’ next scheduled game is at home against Dixie County on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 p.m.
