BY LISA HOLTZENDORF
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
It was a dominant performance on both sides of the ball for the Rural Class Union County High School football team, which defeated Class 2A Keystone Heights 51-6 on Aug. 29 in Lake Butler.
The Tigers (1-1), whose game this week has been canceled due to the number of injuries sustained by opponent St. Joseph Academy, were relentless on offense, with running back Drew Simmons scoring three touchdowns.
Defensively, Union held the Indians to two first downs and 68 yards.
Keystone (0-2), which has a bye this week, scored its first points of the season on a Hunter Crumpton touchdown run late in the third quarter.
Taking the field for the coin toss were Union captains Jeffrey Brugh, Wyatt Elixson, Garhett Prevatt and Keegan Shuler and Keystone captains Luke Bacorn and Pete Bostic. The Indians won the toss and deferred, with the Tigers electing to receive the opening kickoff.
J.J. Buie received a short kick from Ryder Thomas and returned it to the Union 41. Simmons took a handoff from quarterback Brugh, twisting and spinning his way downfield and earning first-down yardage. Brugh and Bryce Lawton contributed yardage along with Simmons to set the Tigers up with first-and-goal. Simmons eventually scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Union an early 6-0 lead with 8:31 left in the first quarter. The extra point was no good.
Keystone’s Cole Crabtree returned the Union kickoff to his own 38-yard line. Crumpton gained 5 yards on a quarterback keeper, but the Union defense proved to be stingy, stopping run plays and getting a big third-down stop by Erick Lasseter, forcing the Indians to punt.
The Tigers had good field position at their own 49, but a tipped pass was intercepted by Keystone’s Trey Simmons, giving the Indians the ball at the Union 46.
Union’s defense forced the Indians into a fourth-down play, but the Tigers jumped offsides to give Keystone a first down. Union overcame the mistake, with Edward Durant, Elijah Llanes and Alec McClellon stepping up to make big stops and forcing the Indians to punt.
Keystone got a break on the punt when it wasn’t fielded and rolled out of bounds at the Union 25-yard line. The Tigers, however, quickly went on the move, starting with Lawton getting a big run on first down. That was followed by a big gain from Simmons, but a block-in-the-back penalty negated the run and put Union into a first-and-19 situation. McClellon took a handoff and gained significant yardage in giving the Tigers a first down at the Keystone 30. Then, with the second quarter underway, C.J. Ivey carried the ball into the end zone on a 33-yard run. The PAT was blocked, but the Tigers led 12-0 with 11:10 left in the second quarter.
The Tigers’ next offensive series began at midfield. Union gained a first down before Simmons sprinted for another touchdown. A holding penalty brought the play back, but on what seemed to be a replay, Simmons got the handoff again, spinning out of tackles as he scored from 30 yards out. No flags were on the field this time. Brugh kicked the extra point to make it 19-0 with 7:26 to play in the second quarter.
Keystone’s following drive was marred by a bad snap and fumble, with Elixson and Llanes scrambling after the loose ball. Elixson eventually recovered the fumble to give the Tigers excellent field position at the Keystone 12-yard line.
Two short plays later, Simmons scored, going around left end for a 12-yard touchdown and a 25-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first half. The PAT was no good.
The Indians’ defense came up with a big play the next time the Tigers had the ball, with Josiah Bardier making an interception. Unfortunately, the Keystone offense went three-and-out, punting the ball back to the Tigers.
Union sought to close out the half with another touchdown in the closing seconds. The Tigers got it when Buie came down with a tipped pass in the end zone, extending their lead to 31-0.
The Tigers opened the floodgates to start the second half, beginning with a blocked punt. That led to a 51-yard touchdown run by Lawton to make the score 37-0 and implement a running clock. The PAT was no good.
Keystone’s offense received another blow when the Indians went for it on a fourth-down play. A tipped pass led to a Cadenz Merriex interception, which he returned for a touchdown. The extra point was good, putting the Tigers up 44-0.
The Tigers started substituting in younger players as Keystone finally put points on the board this season. Crumpton broke through the defense on a big run to the Union 5-yard line. Crumpton carried the ball into the end zone from there to make it 44-6. The PAT was no good.
Union added the game’s final score when Caleb Hall took the ball into the end zone on a 31-yard run. Durant kicked the extra point.
The Tigers return to action on Friday, Sept. 12, when they host Class 2A Baldwin at 7:30 p.m. Baldwin is currently 2-0, defeating Englewood and Palatka by a combined score of 59-17.
Keystone’s next game is its first District 5 contest of the year. The Indians will host Newberry on Friday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. Newberry (0-2) The Panthers opened the season with a 47-14 loss to University Christian (a Class 1A regional finalist last season) and fell 32-7 to Hawthorne (the Rural Class state runner-up last season) on Aug. 29.
