BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Jamez Jameson rushed for 112 yards and two touchdowns in the second half of the Union County High School football team’s 42-20 win over The Villages in a May 13 spring game in the The Villages.
The starters for both teams played the first half and the first two series of the second half. Union trailed 14-7 at halftime, but tied the score on Thomas Williams’ 32-yard touchdown run and subsequent extra point by Jonathan Edwards.
Once the backups and younger players entered the game, it was all Tigers. Besides Jameson’s two scores, Union got a touchdown pass from Trenton Klein to Bobo Woodall and a rushing touchdown from Cole Austin.
“It’s bright with our young guys. We’ve built a lot of depth here over the last two years,” Union Head Coach Andrew Thomas said, noting that the younger players basically ran most of the system the varsity starters do.
Though the varsity starters put only one score on the board in the first half, the offense was basically unstoppable. Three of its four first-half drives ended in turnovers.
The Tigers had 231 yards in the first half and finished with 556 overall. They never punted.
“I thought offensively, we kind of did everything we wanted to do,” Thomas said.
The Villages rushed for an average of 9 yards per carry in the first half, with Alvon Isaac carrying the ball eight times for 137 yards and one touchdown.
Thomas said Villages backs hurt his defense when they bounced plays to the outside.
“We’ve got to be a little bit more aggressive on the edges because they weren’t really hurting us in the box,” Thomas said. “They were bouncing it, and we were missing tackles.”
Isaac ripped off a pair of 9-yard runs on the first two plays of the game and helped the Buffalo drive past midfield. Daylyn Diston ended the threat when he intercepted a pass.
Union’s first offensive series began at its own 30. Quarterback A.J. Cortese had an 18-yard run on the first play. Cortese later completed a 9-yard pass to Gavin Jenkins for a first down at the opponent’s 40-yard line. Diston had a 10-yard reception for another first down before The Villages’ Janiyis McNeil recovered a fumble.
The Buffalo responded with a 10-play, 68-yard scoring drive, with 30 of those yards coming off two penalties. Isaac had a 14-yard run to the Union 46, with a personal-foul facemask penalty tacking on another 15 yards. The Tigers’ Dylan Lane tackled quarterback Danny Bitting for no gain on the first play after that. Bitting then threw two straight incompletions before a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Buffalo a first down at the 11-yard line.
After three straight run plays, the Villages was facing fourth-and-1 at the 2. The Buffalo were then flagged three straight times for illegal procedure before Isaac turned a screen pass into a 17-yard touchdown with 2:43 left in the first quarter. The Buffalo, after the PAT, led 7-0.
Union answered with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive. The Tigers picked up first downs on a 25-yard reception by Jenkins and an 11-yard run by Cortese, but Rayvon Durant did most of the work, carrying the ball five times for 39 yards. His 15-yard run set up his own 1-yard touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Edwards added the PAT to tie the score.
Durant finished the game with 113 yards on 15 carries.
On The Villages’ first offensive play following the score, Union’s Jimmy Cox tackled Maleek Williams for a 2-yard loss. The Buffalo did pick up a first down on the next play when Bitting completed a 29-yard pass to Ja-quez Oliver. Bitting’s next pass, though, was tipped and intercepted by Dalton Lane. Lane’s return and a personal-foul penalty on the Buffalo put the Tigers’ offense at The Villages’ 40-yard line.
A 19-yard catch-and-run by Dayquan Diston converted a third down and moved Union to the 17-yard line, but the Tigers eventually turned the ball over when Michael Florian intercepted a pass.
Isaac received two straight handoffs after the change of possession, with the second run resulting in an 88-yard touchdown. The Villages took a 14-7 lead at the 7:36 mark of the second quarter.
Union’s offense drove right down the field. Durant picked up first downs on runs of 11 and 9 yards, while Cortese moved the chains on runs of 7 and 11 yards. The quarterback’s 11-yard run put the Tigers at The Villages’ 15. Durant then had a 13-yard run to the 2. After a 1-yard run by Durant, the Tigers lost yardage on two straight run plays. Then, on the last play of the half, The Villages’ Oliver intercepted a pass.
Thomas said he decided to have the offense try a few different plays at the goal line, admitting that the Tigers probably would’ve scored if they had “just mashed it” instead.
The Tigers’ offense took to the field first to start the second half. Daylyn Diston and Durant had consecutive runs of 9 and 20 yards, respectively. Williams then had a 14-yard carry before he broke free for a 32-yard touchdown approximately two minutes into the half. Edwards added the PAT to tie it up.
Isaac picked up a first down on The Villages’ first offensive series of the half, but the Buffalo turned the ball over on downs at their own 43 when the Tigers’ Deonte Jones broke up a fourth-down pass.
The backups and younger players began entering the game, and Union’s Jameson made an immediate impact. He had consecutive carries of 7 and 11 yards. After Klein’s 10-yard run moved the Tigers to the 13, Jameson ripped off a 12-yard run. That set up his own 1-yard touchdown run with 5:20 remaining in the third quarter. After Edwards’ PAT, Union led 21-14.
On the Tigers’ next offensive series, they went 81-yards on seven plays. Jones caught a 38-yard pass from Klein to set up first down at The Villages’ 43. A 14-yard reception by Austin set up a first down at the 23. Klein hooked up with Woodall from there for a 23-yard score on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Tigers led 28-14 after Edwards’ PAT.
The Villages scored on the following series. The Buffalo benefitted from a 39-yard pass play and a 15-yard run as well as a 15-yard penalty against the Tigers. Josh Ivan threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Deon’dre Hamilton to make the score 28-20 at the 7:33 mark. The PAT was no good.
Union was penalized for holding on its first offensive play following The Villages’ score. The next play, though, saw Jameson scamper 82 yards for a touchdown with 7:07 to play. Edwards added the PAT to make the score 35-20.
The Tigers’ Phil Jackson was a disruptive force on The Villages’ next offensive series. He made a tackle for no gain on one play and pressured Ivan on two plays that resulted in incompletions and a turnover on downs.
Union’s offense went 37 yards on three plays. Woodall and Klein had runs of 12 and 19 yards, respectively, setting up Austin’s 6-yard touchdown run with 3:39 to play. Edwards’ PAT capped the scoring.
The Tigers rushed for 417 yards on 44 carries. Cortese had 52 yards on six carries, while Williams had 46 yards on two carries. Klein added 39 yards on four carries.
Cortese completed 7 of 11 passes for 81 yards, while Klein completed all three of his attempts for 58 yards.
Jones caught one pass for 38 yards, while Dayquan Diston caught four for 37 yards. Jenkins caught two passes for 34 yards, with Woodall adding 20 yards on two receptions.
