Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Caleb Crawford rushed for three touchdowns, while Rayvon Durant and Thomas Williams each gained more than 100 yards in the Union County High School football team’s 49-14 win over host Santa Fe on Oct. 22.
Union, which hosts Newberry on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m., averaged 11 yards per rushing attempt, gaining 501 yards on 47 carries.
The Tigers (8-0) were represented at midfield for the coin toss by captains Aidan Newsom, Martin Odum and Curran Webb. Santa Fe (0-8) won the toss and deferred its option to the second half.
Santa Fe employed some trickery to start the contest when kicker Zach Williams and Anthony Rollings switched spots for an onside-kick attempt. The kick, however, went out of bounds, resulting in the Union offense starting the game’s initial series on the Santa Fe 49.
Odum, in his sixth start at quarterback after the injury to A.J. Cortese, led the offense down the field in just four short plays. Williams, who rushed for 115 yards on nine attempts, carried the ball into the end zone for the first score, with Jonathan Edwards adding the PAT. The Tigers led 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.
The Raiders responded by earning three first downs in moving the ball to the Union 32-yard line. A bad snap to quarterback Landon Rogers led to a fumble, which was recovered by Webb.
Union’s ground attack continued, with Williams gaining first downs on runs of 13 and 30 yards. His 30-yarder set up Crawford’s 15-yard touchdown run with 7:21 remaining in the first quarter. Edwards added the PAT for a 14-0 lead.
Edwards’ ensuing kickoff was fielded by Elijah Kellum at his own 20, but Kellum lost 2 yards on a tackle by Hance Jones.
Rogers completed passes to Kellum and Kaleb Johnson to pick up a first down, while a third-and-long play was converted when the Tigers were penalized for a personal foul. Union’s Crawford got fired up and dropped Keyon Carter for a loss on the resulting first-down play. Rogers was then sacked on the next two plays by Gavin Jenkins and Webb. On fourth down, Union was penalized for roughing the punter, giving the Raiders another first down.
Santa Fe’s next three plays were incomplete passes. The Raiders punted, with the Union offense taking over at its own 31.
Durant got the call on first down and ran straight up the middle for a 9-yard gain. Durant took a pitch on second down and gained 5 yards and a first down. The Raiders stripped Williams of the ball on the next play and recovered the fumble at the Union 45-yard line.
The Tigers stepped up defensively. Dayviontae “Bubba” Thompson pressured Rogers into throwing an incompletion on first down. Rogers again faced pressure on second down. His pass over the middle was intercepted by Jenkins, giving the Union offense the ball at its own 45.
It was then off to the races for Durant, who took the ball around right end for a 53-yard run down the sideline before he was brought down by Kyren Washington. Daylyn Diston took the ball into the end zone on first-and-goal from the 2. With Edwards’ extra point, the Tigers led 21-0 with 1:17 left in the opening quarter.
Santa Fe changed things up offensively with Carter, a 290-pound running back, lining up to take the snaps from center. He barreled his way through the defensive front like a locomotive, earning two first downs. Those runs set up a 43-yard touchdown pass by Rogers to make the score 21-6 at the start of the second quarter. The Raiders were unsuccessful on the two-point conversion.
Union had good field position, thanks to another unsuccessful onside-kick attempt by the Raiders. Durant ran for a 29-yard gain before being pushed out of bounds at the Santa Fe 20. Two plays later, the Raiders’ Anthony Arambula recovered a fumble.
The Raiders put together another long drive, gaining three first downs and benefitting from a pass-interference penalty. Santa Fe, however, was eventually forced to punt. Dee Williams, making an amazing catch on the run, returned the punt deep into Santa Fe territory, but offsetting penalties resulted in the Raiders punting again. The Tigers took over at their own 24 with 5:29 to play in the half.
That was enough time for an offense the proceeded to click like a fine-oiled machine. Runs by Crawford, Durant and Brycen Boney moved the Tigers downfield, with Crawford capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. Union, after Edwards’ PAT, extended its lead to 28-6.
The celebration was short-lived when Rogers connected with Kellum on the first play from scrimmage following the kickoff for a 37-yard touchdown. Santa Fe’s two-point conversion was successful, making the score 28-14 with 2:34 left in the second quarter.
Durant, who finished with 165 yards on 15 carries, took a handoff up the middle for a 13-yard gain before Odum found Diston on a 45-yard pass play. That set up Diston’s own rushing touchdown. Edwards kicked the extra point for a 35-14 lead.
Jones intercepted a Rogers pass before halftime.
The Raiders had to punt on their first series of the second half, but they were able to pin the Tigers inside their 5-yard line.
No matter. The Tigers chewed up the clock as they proceeded to march down the field toward another touchdown. A third-down keeper by Odum put Union in scoring position, with Crawford capitalizing on a 4-yard run into the end zone. After Edwards added the PAT, the score stood at 42-14.
Crawford finished with 93 yards on 12 carries.
The Tigers entered the game having allowed opponents to score just three times in the second half. They weren’t about to let Santa Fe make it four times as the defense kept the Raiders’ Rogers on the run, giving him no time to find his receivers. Union’s Jimmy Cox recorded a sack on a third-down play, which forced Santa Fe to punt.
Union then scored the final points when Dayquan Diston caught an Odum pass over the middle for a 50-yard touchdown.
Odum completed both of his two pass attempts for 95 yards.
The Tigers’ rushing attack also featured 48 yards from Dee Williams on two carries and 36 yards from Boney on two carries. Daylyn Diston had 27 yards on three carries.
Webb led the team in tackles with eight, which included 2.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. Four players had five tackles each: Jones, Newsom, Thompson and Trevor Holtzendorf.
After the game’s conclusion, Union Head Coach Andrew Thomas praised his players’ efforts and congratulated them on the victory. He also reminded them who they’d be facing next.
“Next week, we have Newberry, and I have not forgotten what they did to us last year in Newberry,” Thomas said. He was referring to a play where Newberry quarterback Makai Johnson faked taking a knee and threw a touchdown pass with less than a minute left in the game to put the Panthers up 28-15.
The final score wound up being 28-21 when Manny Covey returned a kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown.
“That play still does not sit very well with me,” Thomas said. “I have not forgotten about it, and neither should you.”
Newberry (5-3) is coming off a 35-3 win over Dixie County. The Panthers have won three of their last four games.
