Blarisville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers hosted the Gilmer Bobcats on senior night for the Panthers in a non region matchup.

First Quarter

On the first play of the game, the Bobcats fumbled the ball and the Panthers recovered at the 35 yard line. The Panthers scored on a 4th down conversion as Helcher found Chitwood for a 30 yard touchdown. The Bobcats picked up a quick first down and started moving the ball pretty easily. The Panther defense was having a hard time stopping the triple option offense. The Bobcats drove all the way down and tied the game 7-7. Caiden Tanner returned the kickoff all the way down to the Bobcat 30 yard line. The Panthers were held to 4th down but  successfully picked up the 1st down. The Panthers scored as Helcher found Caleb Rogers to put the Panthers up 14-7. The Bobcats returned the kickoff down inside the Panther 30 yard line. The Panthers forced a fumble but the Bobcats picked it up and got the first down. The Panthers led 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Bobcats scored on the first play of the quarter to tie the game at 14. The Bobcats attempted an onside kick but the Panthers were ready for it and started their drive at the 50 yard line. Rogers got the Panthers drive started with a 19 yard run on first down. Rogers put the offense on his back and the Panthers drove deep inside Bobcat territory. The Panthers drive stalled and failed to pick up a first down on fourth down. The Panthers defense held strong and forced the Bobcats to punt. Helcher found Rogers out of the backfield to pick up a huge first down. Helcher found Rogers again across the middle to put the Panthers inside the Bobcat 10 yard line. Helcher ran in for a touchdown to put the Panthers back in the lead 21-14. After a punt on their last drive, the Bobcats started moving the ball well and scored to tie the game at 21. The Panther offense failed to pick up a first down and punted the ball back to the Bobcats. On the first play of the Bobcat drive, Caleb John intercepted the deep pass. After a 3 and out, the Panthers were back to moving the ball well. With 5 seconds left, Helcher threw a deep pass to Chitwood that was intercepted to end the half. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime.

Third Quarter

On the first play of the half for the Panthers, Rogers ran the ball all the way inside Bobcat territory. The Panthers drive stalled after picking up another first down but failed to convert on 4th down.The Bobcats picked up a quick and easy first down on the first play of the drive. The Bobcats were picking up a bunch of chunk plays and scored to take a 28-21 lead. The Panthers were struggling to slow down the Bobcat offense. After another quick first down by the Panthers, the offense stalled and were forced to punt again. On the 3rd play of the Bobcat drive, the Bobcats scored on a 73 yard run to extend their lead 35-21. The Panthers picked up 3 quick first downs and were inside the Bobcat 20 yard line in 5 plays. The Panthers trailed 35-21 at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Fourth Quarter

The Panthers drive stalled inside the Bobcat 10 yard line after another failed 4th down conversion. On 3rd down on the Bobcat drive, the Bobcats scored on an 89 yard touchdown to extend their lead to 42-21. On the kickoff, Tanner returned it all the way down to the Bobcat 30 yard line for the second time in a row. Helcher found Chitwood as Chitwood made a spectacular one handed catch for the touchdown. The Panthers still trailed 42-28. The Bobcats returned the next kickoff down inside Panther territory after the Panthers had to kick off from the 20 yard line after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The Panthers made a huge 4th down stop to get the ball back at their own 26 yard line. After gaining some momentum after the 4th down stop, the Panthers were moving the ball easily and drove down deep inside Bobcat territory. Helcher scored on a 15 yard QB draw to cut the deficit to 7, 42-35. After the Bobcats picked up a first down, the Bobcats fumbled the ball and the Panthers recovered around midfield. Helcher found Tanner across the middle to pick up a huge 1st down. Helcher scored his 2nd straight rushing touchdown to tie the game up at 42. The Bobcats would run the rest of the clock out and settle for overtime.

Overtime

The Panthers started the overtime on defense. On the 4th play, the Bobcats scored but went for a 2 point conversion. The Bobcats failed the 2 point conversion and all the Panthers needed was a touchdown and a PAT to win. Eli Peugh caught a screen on first down but fumbled it out of bounds. Rogers took the handoff and ran down to the 1. Helcher scored on the next play to tie the game at 48 and Kyler Robbins nailed the PAT to complete the miraculous comeback for the Panthers. In one of the greatest comebacks in Union County history, the Panthers beat the Bobcats 49-48 in overtime. The Panthers will travel to Lovett in the first round of the playoffs next Friday.