Panthers ‘Trump’ the Wildcats 42-14!

Union County Panthers vs Andrews Wildcats

Varsity Football

September 8, 2017

Location: Blairsville, GA

“Make America Great Again, Trump the Wildcats”

It wasn’t just another Friday night for the Panthers – Union County honored its first responders (Firefighters, EMTs, Police Officers, etc) and Deputy/Former Security Guard for UCHS Mitchell Henderson flew in the game ball on a helicopter. The crowd was in awe as the pilot landed the helicopter in the playground just above the field and watched him make his way down to the 50-yd line. This was very special for the hometown of Blairsville; Mitchell was flown out last year when he was involved in a life threatening car crash. His miraculous recovery had nearly everyone at a loss for words and some in tears.

Another interesting touch to the evening; the Panthers Pit Crew (a.k.a. the student section), made an executive decision to honor the first responders & Cole Wright’s offer to West Point by dressing in their ‘Merica gear.’ The banner below says “They Hate U.S. Cuz They Ain’t U.S.”

Upon receiving the ball, the game began and took an unusual twist in the first quarter. Instead of the Panthers norm of exploding and scoring immediately, they threw an interception for their first possession. The 1A SMC Wildcats advanced from the 20-yd line to the end zone for the first touchdown of the night. Womp, womp.

#84 Kyle Morlock

That lit a fuse within the Panthers players. With an impressive left field shift, #8 Cole Wright found #84 Kyle Morlock for a 20-yd spiral into a closing window, leveling the playing field back to 7-7.

With defenses working aggressively against each other, the Panthers offense fought hard and scored one touchdown in the second quarter. Several first-and-tens upfield brought the Panthers to scoring position as #15 Cole Dockery fought his way through for a 1-yd rush, improving the score to 14-7!

#8 Wright pawing his way through the Wildcats for a TD

Then the lights came on for the Panthers in the third quarter – literally. Until this point, the stadium had been darker than usual due to a section of lights being out on the left-hand side of the field.

Assuming Coach Brian Allison and the other coaches said some very encouraging words to the guys in the locker room during halftime, the boys came back out and dominated the Wildcats like they have every team they’ve played so far this season!

Being chased by his shadow, #21 Sawyer Drake

The Panthers pawed their way down the field and scored 4 more touchdowns in the second half of the game!

TD#3: an impressive 43-yd run by QB #8 Cole Wright up the left-hand side through a pack of Cats!

TD#4: a wide open 43-yd run up the right-hand side by Senior #15 Cole Dockery!

TD#5: a beautiful 71-yd spiral straight down the mid-field line to Sophomore #21 Sawyer Drake!

TD#6: a poetic 24-yd run by QB #8 Cole Wright! Wright tried the right-hand side but quickly saw defense closing in, switched back and took it up the left-hand side for a TD!

42-7 PANTHERS!

To reduce the Wildcats suffering, the Panthers allowed them one last 9-yd pass for a touchdown ending the game at 42-14.

Allison ended the game by telling his players, “Thankful for the win but we needed a game like this to prepare us for the rest of our season.”

TEAM STATISTICS

RUSHING – 264 yards PASSING – 188 yards

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Panthers: #8 C. Wright 7-125 (2 TD); #15 C. Dockery 9-100 (2 TD); #24 C. Buzzard 6-45 Total: 264 Rushing Yards

PASSING — Panthers: #8 C. Wright 9/16, 188 Total: 188 Passing Yards

RECEIVING — Panthers: #21 S. Drake 2-77 (1 TD); #18 L. Dyer 1-32; #4 K. Hemphill 2-31 (1 TD); #4 K. Hemphill 3-26; #84 K. Morlock 1-20 (1 TD); #20 C. Rich 1-13; #22 A. Pattee 1-11.

With another win under their belt, the Panthers look forward to hosting Banks County for another non-conference game on September 15, 2017 at 7:30PM. The Panthers are now 3-0 for the season!

Also, support the Panthers JV team this Thursday, September 14, 2017 as they face the White County Warriors on the road at 5:30PM! The JV Panthers opened up their season last week with a victory over the Fannin County Rebels, making their record 1-0!

(Pictures by: Jenni Dixon)

Kiersten Cox