Union County Panthers Spring Football Game

The Future of Football is Bright with Lots of Returning Players, Speed, and Grit

By Brandon Stephens

(Blairsville, GA) – – The future will be very bright for the Union County High Panther football team.  The Panthers have all the tools and skills they need to make the fall a pageant of wins and thrilling plays on Friday night, regardless of being at home or on the road.  Thursday night (May 11, 2023), Union County held its first spring football game/scrimmage, or as some said a glorified practice.  Regardless of how one frames the event, it showcased some great Panther talent.

At first glance everyone appears to be in shape and great health, with the exception of maybe an ACL or light sprained joint on one or two of the players.  Third-year Head Coach Michael Perry is very pleased with the “Spring Game” and ready to get to summer work outs

Panther Offense

Panther offense is going to be stacked with a cadre of good players.  Returning quarterback Caiden Tanner will lead a host of skilled wide receivers and running backs.  The favored target will probably be Jensen Goble who had a 1,000-yard season in 2022 and is being looked upon by D-1 schools.  Behind Goble will be Zachary Taylor who had more than 200 yards receiving.  More than once in the spring game, Tanner had enough time in the back field to drink a pot of coffee with good protection from the offensive front line.  While the team was not set to go full-on to the quarterback, the offensive line did its job to protect and move their defensive counterparts to allow good passing and the periodic run.  Cody Meeks will be one of the star linemen, who is now benching 315, squatting 465, and cleaning 245.  How was the game from the offensive perspective?  Caiden Tanner has lots of good praise for the Panthers Offense.

Panther Defense

The Panthers will be a gritty blitzing team that looks really good in a stack 3-3-5 set.  Seth Rutan will be a team leader from the linebacker post.  Rutan is a lean fast player that is also benching 250 and squatting 365.  Don’t be in front of Rutan or his buddy sophomore Ethan Lester, who both made great plays.  Cade Dockery, Kooper Ashcraft will also pose a good blitzing and coverage for the Panther defensive threat.  Most of the teams in this north Georgia region are spread RPO teams.  Building the defense as Union County has will make this team a force to worry about.

Overall, the Union County Panthers will have good senior leadership and a good group of younger skilled players that will make paying admission to a Friday night football game worth seeing.   A prediction is the Panthers could see a long string of wins and come up at the season with its biggest challenge.