BY JADEE O’STEEN
Special to the Telegraph-Times-Monitor
Union County High School bounced back after a devastating loss to Hawthorne, scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to turn a one-score game into a 42-14 win over visiting Class 2S Santa Fe on Oct. 21.
In the second half, the Tigers got two rushing touchdowns from Jamez Jamison and two passing scores from A.J. Cortese as they entered a bye week with a 5-2 record. Union will be back in action with a home game against Walton on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m.
Union got off to a somewhat slow start in the first quarter against the Raiders (1-7). The Tigers didn’t score until the second quarter when junior Thomas Williams found the end zone on a run of 52 yards.
“We came out soft, and they hit us in the mouth early,” Cortese said.
The Tigers’ offense seemed to gain some of their momentum back and went on to score once again in the second quarter. Rayvon Durant helped the Tigers get down into Santa Fe territory and then scored a touchdown on a 1-yard run.
The Tigers went into the half up 14-7.
The Tigers’ offense came out in the second half and started to play their “brand of football,” as Cortese likes to put it. They scored a touchdown on a 45-yard run by Jamison approximately 30 seconds into the third quarter. Jamison filled in for Durant, who had 106 yards on 11 carries in the first half alone, for the duration of the game.
“It felt great to be able to fill Durant’s role in the second half. I felt mentally prepared for it,” Jamison said.
Overall, Union’s defense performed well against the Raiders. The Tigers had a total of 32 tackles, with eight of those made by Hance Jones. Jones and Dayviontae Thompson, who had five tackles, each had a sack, while Gavin Jenkins had an interception.
“We had a few errors on our side of the ball, but the coaches put in a great game plan for us, and we executed it,” defensive tackle Timmy Taylor said.
The Tigers scored three more touchdowns in the second half to pull away. Daylyn Diston and Dee Williams caught scoring passes of 38 and 35 yards, respectively, from Cortese, while Jamison added another touchdown run to his night, which ended with him gaining 75 yards on nine carries.
Dee Williams’ touchdown was his only catch, while Diston had had seven receptions for 96 yards.
Cortese completed 10 of 17 passes for 148 yards. He added 44 yards rushing on seven carries.
Jonathan Edwards was 6 for 6 on extra-point attempts. For the season, he’s 39 of 40.
Union’s next opponent, Walton, is ranked 20th in Class 2S (prior to the Oct. 26 release of the state’s updated power rankings). The Braves improved to 6-2 after a 28-19 win over Blountstown.
The game was originally scheduled to be away, but will now serve as Senior Night for the Tigers.
Cortese, who is a senior, said, “I am preparing just as hard physically for this game as I do any game, but preparing more mentally because it could be my last game on home turf.”
Needless to say, this will be a pretty monumental game, especially for the seniors.
