Atlanta, Georgia- The Union County Panthers football team traveled to Lovett High School to play in the first round of the GHSA State Playoffs. The Panthers were a 3 seed out of region 8.

First Quarter

The Panthers started off the game with the ball but on the first play of the game, Helcher threw an interception. The Lions had the ball deep in Panther territory to start their drive. The Lions fumbled on the second play of their drive and the Panthers recovered. On the second drive for the Panthers, Trace Wright picked up a quick first down for the Panthers. The Panthers drive stalled after a failed 4th down conversion. 2 straight drops on the same play ended the drive. The Lions would take a 7-0 lead after a quick 6 play drive. The Panthers offense would fail to gain any positive yards and after a sack on 3rd down, the Panthers were forced to punt. After 2 big plays by Lovett, the Lions scored again on a 33 yard run. Lovett had a 14-0 lead. The Panthers offense started to move the ball well as Connor Schuknecht led the running attack. The Panthers picked up a huge gain but it was called back due to illegal formation. After the penalty, the drive lost its momentum and the Panthers were forced to punt. The Panthers defense got their first stop of the game and forced the Lions to punt for the first time of the game.

Second Quarter

The Panthers picked up a quick first down to begin the quarter. Helcher found Chitwood for a huge gain to put the Panthers across midfield for the first time of the game. The Panthers drive would stall inside the Lovett 20 yard line after the Panthers failed another 4th down conversion. Lovett would drive the ball all the way down the field and score to take a 21-0 lead. The Panthers offense went 3 and out again and punted again. After 2 great plays by the Panther defense, the Panthers forced Lovett to punt again. The Panthers trailed Lovett 21-0 at halftime.

Third Quarter

The Panthers started the second half red hot on defense. Lovett didn’t gain a yard and were forced to punt. The offense picked up 2 quick first downs. The Panthers offense stalled again in Lovett territory after a failed 4th down conversion. The Panther defense got their 2nd consecutive stop and forced another punt. On 3rd down of the Panthers offensive drive, Helcher fumbled and it was recovered by the Lions at the 10 yard line. Lovett would score on 3rd down and take a 28-0 lead. The Panther offense went 3 and out again and were forced to punt.

Fourth Quarter

The Panther defense got a sack and another stop to force another Lovett punt. On the second play of the Panthers offensive drive, Helcher threw an interception. The Panther defense forced another punt but the Panther offense had not taken advantage of any stop the defense had made. The Panthers offense was forced to punt again. After another stop by the Panther defense, the offense drove the ball dow the field and scored to cut the deficit to 28-7. Lovett would recover the onside kick and knee the ball to run the rest of the clock out. The Panthers fell to Lovett 28-7 to end their season. The Panthers ended the season with a 3-7 record and 2-2 region record.