BY LISA HOLTZENDORF
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Jeffrey Brugh rushed for touchdowns that totaled 113 yards as the Union County High School football team rebounded from two straight shutout losses to defeat visiting Paxon 21-17 on Sept. 26.
It was a much-needed victory for a young Tigers team, who not only struggled in their last two games but lost leading rusher Drew Simmons, who transferred to Columbia.
Interim Coach Lamar Waters praised his team, telling his players they played the way he knew they could, with the team looking totally different from the one that was coming off a 47-0 loss to Fort White.
“The defense rose to the occasion, and the offense executed,” Waters said. “Great football was played by every single player.”
Union (2-3) made some personnel changes, with freshman Cadenz Merriex taking over for senior Brugh at quarterback. Brugh moved to running back and wide receiver and is also now a part of special teams.
Paxon (3-3) kicked off to start the game, with the Tigers starting a drive at their own 37. The Golden Eagles wouldn’t allow Union to move the ball, forcing a punt.
The Eagles began their first drive at their own 40, but the Union proved to be tough on defense as well, stifling the Eagles on fourth-and-2.
That gave the Union offense the ball at the Paxon 48. Brugh took a handoff from Merriex, exploding out of the backfield and taking it the distance for a touchdown at the 7:58 mark of the first quarter. Brugh kicked the extra point, making the score 7-0.
Paxon answered with its own touchdown as Ja’Bron Ray scored on a pass play with 4:16 remaining in the first quarter. William Montelongo added the PAT to tie the score at 7-7.
After trading possessions several times, with both defenses playing tough, Montelongo kicked a 35-yard field goal to put the Eagles up 10-7 with 6:27 left in the second quarter.
Union’s defense would come up with a big play when it forced a fumble deep in the Tigers’ territory. The Tigers fumbled several times themselves, with the ball rolling toward the Paxon end zone before Union recovered at the 6-yard line. On fourth-and-goal at the 1, C.J. Ivey got the call, punching it in for a touchdown with 2:22 remaining in the first half. Brugh kicked the extra point as the Tigers took a 14-10 lead.
The Eagles began the third quarter with a bang when Javier Dixon completed a 65-yard touchdown pass to Ray — his favorite target. With Montelongo’s PAT, the Eagles were in the lead again by a score of 17-14.
Unlike the week before against Fort White, this Tigers team was fired up and ready to win. Brugh took a handoff and blew through the middle of the Paxon defense for a 65-yard touchdown. He barely had time to catch his breath when he booted the extra point to put the Tigers ahead 21-17 at the tail end of the third quarter.
The rest of the game was a battle between the defenses, with the Tigers shutting down the Eagles on six fourth-down attempts.
Union will celebrate homecoming when it hosts Jacksonville’s Zarephath Academy on Friday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m. Zarephath (2-4) is coming off a 30-0 win over West Oaks Academy. That broke a two-game losing streak as Zarephath lost 46-6 to Middleburg on Sept. 12 and 43-14 to Lafayette on Sept. 19.
