BY CECE THOMAS
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Drew Simmons rushed for three touchdowns for the Union County High School football team, which built a 29-0 lead in defeating visiting Holmes County 42-20 in the first round of the Rural Class playoffs on Nov. 15.
The third seed Tigers (9-1) scored more than 40 points for the fifth time this season, but Head Coach Andrew Thomas saw some room for improvement.
“We played good at times, but we did miss some opportunities and felt it was not our best, execution wise,” Thomas said. “The effort was there, and the boys played really hard. We missed some opportunities on offense to kind of separate earlier, but we took control. We have to finish the fourth quarter a little bit better.
“We did what we needed to do but can definitely get better.”
Union won the opening coin toss and elected to receive. The 14th seed Blue Devils (6-5) had a short kickoff, which had the Tigers starting at their own 35-yard line. The Tigers lost yardage on run plays by Simmons and Ashton Newsome, but on third-and-13, a beautiful pass from Trenton Klein to Bryan Tyson went for a huge gain and a first down all the way out to the Holmes 30. Tyson picked up another first down at the 12-yard line. Klein kept the ball for a pick-up of 8, making it second-and-2 at the 4. Simmons took a handoff in for a touchdown with 9:16 left in the first quarter. Union went for two, with Simmons again carrying the ball in, making it 8-0.
The Devils bobbled Gavin Jenkins’ kickoff, but managed to bring it out to their 27-yard line. A running back took a handoff and was met immediately by a host of Tigers for a loss, bringing up second-and-14. Another handoff resulted in the back being met in the backfield for another loss, resulting in third-and-20. A sack by Klein brought up fourth-and-a-lot. The Devils punted, with the Tigers taking over at the Holmes 44-yard line.
Klein threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Jenkins to put the Tigers ahead 14-0 with 11:52 left in the second quarter. The two-point conversion was no good.
Jenkins finished with two catches for 101 yards.
Holmes began its next drive at its own 46. After an incomplete pass, a running back was stopped for a short gain, making it third-and-9. Another incompletion brought up fourth down and a punt.
With the ball at their own 30, the Tigers gained good yardage on a Simmons carry, bringing up second-and-3. Simmons got another carry, breaking away for a 20-yard gain and a first down at the 50. Jenkins, on a double reverse, picked up a couple of yards, while a carry by Alec McClellon picked up several more yards, making it third-and-4. A trip-up at the line up scrimmage brought up fourth-and-4. After a penalty for delay of game (on a confusing play on which the Devils seemed to jump offsides), Union faked the punt, with C.J. Ivey picking up the first-down yardage and then some — all the way to the Holmes 32.
Klein, who was 8 of 17 for 248 yards, then threw a touchdown pass to McClellon with 6:53 left in the second quarter. Carter Whitehead’s extra point was good, making the score 21-0.
McClellon finished with two catches for 46 yards.
The Tigers had another chance to possibly score late in the half when Holmes turned the ball over on downs at the Union 41 with 27 seconds left. Klein completed a pass to Simmons for a big gain and a first down at the Holmes 18-yard line. Another pass then appeared to be caught in the end zone, but pass interference was called against the Tigers. Two passes from the 31-yard line were incomplete as the final seconds ticked off the clock.
Jenkins kicked off to start the second half, with the Tigers tackling a Holmes player inside the 5-yard line. The Devils were then flagged for a false start. A handoff led to a running back being tackled in the end zone for a safety. The Tigers led 23-0 with just 10 seconds gone in the third quarter.
McClellon’s return of the free kick put the Union offense at the Holmes 43-yard line. A couple of penalties backed the Tigers up to their own 36. On first-and-20, Klein, who rushed for 84 yards on eight carries, picked up more than half the yardage on a keeper up the middle. Simmons took a handoff and picked up 4 yards to bring up third-and-4. He got the handoff again and took it all the way for a touchdown with 10:22 left in the third quarter, making the score 29-0. The extra point was no good.
The Devils had a good return of Jenkins’ kickoff before a tackle was made at the Union 47. Holmes completed a pass behind the line of scrimmage, with the receiver fumbling and the Tigers recovering, setting the Union offense up at the Holmes 49-yard line.
Holmes got the ball right back, intercepting a pass. A run up the middle for an 8-yard gain gave the Devils second-and-2 at the Union 45. A run around right end just did get enough yardage for a first down at the 43. A quarterback keeper up the middle picked up 5 yards. The quarterback kept the ball again for a gain of 1 yard around right end. A handoff and run up the middle resulted in a first down at the 29.
Two more runs gave the Devils a first down at the 16. A run up the middle then gained 7 yards, but a loss on second down and then a penalty brought up third-and-11. The Devils broke loose for a big run and first down inside the 10. Two more runs set up third-and-goal at the 2. A quarterback keeper was stopped short of the goal line, but the Devils got it into the end zone on the fourth goal-to-go opportunity, making it 29-6 with 2:57 left in the third quarter. The two-point conversion was no good.
On their next possession, the Devils fumbled, with the Tigers recovering at the Holmes 13-yard line.
Simmons, who rushed for 125 yards on 14 carries, looked as if he would be tackled behind the line of scrimmage on a second-and-9 play, but he broke multiple tackles and dragged defenders into the end zone for a touchdown with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. The extra point was no good, but Union led 36-6.
The Devils completed a pass and took it the distance for a touchdown, making the score 36-12 with less than a minute into the fourth quarter. The two-point conversion was no good.
McClellon returned the Holmes kickoff to the Union 39. Two plays later, the Tigers faced third-and-9. Newsom caught a pass for an 8-yard gain, while Ivey took the ball up the middle to convert on fourth down and set up first down at the Holmes 45. Simmons had a 7-yard carry before Edward Durant picked up a couple of yards. A third-down carry by Simmons then resulted in a first down at the 31.
Union was penalized for delay of game, but Simmons picked up 7 yards on a run. After Newsom picked up a couple of yards, Klein kept the ball on third-and-4, carrying a host of defenders almost to the end zone. On first-and-goal, Ivey took it into the end zone to make the score 42-12 with 4:51 to play. The extra point was no good.
After forcing a Holmes punt, the Tigers sent their former junior varsity players into the game. A fumble was recovered by the Devils at the Union 17-yard line.
Holmes scored a touchdown with less than a minute to go. The Devils had a successful two-point play to end the scoring at 42-20.
