Preview: Union County Panthers vs. Fellowship Christian Paladins
The Union County Panthers will head out on the road to face off against the Fellowship Christian Paladins at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday. Union County knows how to get points on the board -- the squad has finished with flashy point totals in its past three matchups -- so hopefully Fellowship Christian likes a good challenge.
Last Friday, Union County didn't have too much trouble with Athens Academy at home as they won 35-21. That's two games straight that Union County has won by exactly 14 points.
Braylen Rader and Caiden Tanner were among the main playmakers for Union County as the former rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns and the latter threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns while completing 90.5% of his passes. Rader hasn't dropped below two rushing touchdowns for three straight games. Tyler Grasty also deserves a shout-out for his two touchdowns.
Union County's defense stepped up as well, laying out the QB four times. Leading the way was Ethan Lester and his two sacks.
Meanwhile, Fellowship Christian had already won three in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 30.7 points), and they went ahead and made it four on Friday. They walked away with a 21-10 victory over Banks County. Given Fellowship Christian's advantage in MaxPreps' Georgia football rankings (they are ranked 96th, while Banks County is ranked 268th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Fellowship Christian's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jonathan Granby, who rushed for 11 yards and a touchdown, and also threw for 181 yards and a touchdown on only 16 passes. Cj Givers was another key contributor, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Union County's victory was their fourth straight at home, bumping their overall record up to 7-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-9 Towns County and 4-5 Banks County (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 36.1% over those games). As for Fellowship Christian, their victory bumped their record up to 7-2.
Union County suffered a grim 35-14 defeat to Fellowship Christian in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Can Union County avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
