EATONTON, GA – Union County remained undefeated this season with a win on the road at Putnam County on Friday. The Panthers needed every bit of a historic night on offense to earn the 74-57 win.

Junior Mason McCombs looks for a defender after making a catch for Union County on the road at Putnam County on Friday. The catch turned into a 35-yard touchdown for McCombs and the Panthers, who needed all the points they could get in the high-scoring, 74-51, victory in Eatonton.

Despite the amount of points scored, two punts and turnovers decided the game as the Panthers defense stood up when it had to.

Union County (5-0, 2-0 Region 8-AA) put up the most points scored during head coach Brian Allison’s tenure, while surrendering the most since Week 6 of the 2017 season.

Allison was quick to focus on the end result after the win over the War Eagles (1-4, 0-2).

“We came here to win, and we did that. No matter what it looks like tomorrow, it’s still a win,” Allison said after the game.

He also rightfully praised his offense, which scored on 11 of 14 drives in the game.

“What a good night on offense; what a great job,” Allison said. “Play after play, we just kept making them.”

The Panthers had fantastic numbers on offense, with senior quarterback Pierson Allison accounting for eight touchdowns and junior running back Jonah Daniel for three.

Pierson Allison ended the night 23-for-34 in the air for 426 yards and six touchdowns, while netting two scores on 54 yards rushing.

Daniel had 239 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries.

Senior wideout Sawyer Drake caught three touchdowns in a nine-catch, 146-yard performance, while fellow senior Kyle Morlock caught six passes for 161 yards and two scores.

Sawyer Drake hauls in a catch for Union County on Friday, Sept. 27. Drake caught three touchdowns for Union County (5-0, 2-0 Region 8-AA) in a high-scoring win on the road against Putnam County on Friday night. The senior reeled in nine catches for 146 yards as the Panthers beat the War Eagles 74-51 in Eatonton.

Despite the big numbers on offense, it turned out to be a few defensive plays the made the difference in a game that saw both offenses score on the majority of drives.

A pair of juniors came up big throughout the night for the Panthers, as Kaston Hemphill pulled in two interceptions and Clayton Lester picked off a pass and recovered a fumble.

Senior John Mancuso also played well, accounting for more than a dozen tackles on defense.

Union County managed to force punts on Putnam County’s third and seventh drives. Combined with the takeaways, it was enough to give the high-powered offense a chance to outscore the home team.

Brian Allison said, “We’ve got to make some corrections; we’ve got to tighten some things up,” in reference to the amount of points given up, but he was all praise for his football team for earning the tough region win on the road.

Through two region games, the undefeated Panthers currently sit in a four-way tie atop the Region 8-AA standings. Also undefeated in the region are Elbert, Banks, and Rabun counties.

Union County will host a region game with Elbert County (3-2, 2-0) on Friday, Oct. 4.

The Panthers managed to earn a close, 29-28, win against Elbert County last season in Elberton.

This is the second consecutive season that the two teams have been in the same region.

Elbert County defeated region opponent Social Circle (1-3, 0-2) 56-7 on Friday night