Football Preview: Union County Fightin' Tigers vs. Pahokee Blue Devils
Two dominant backs in Drew Simmons and Rashon Brown Jr. are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Union County Fightin' Tigers will be playing in front of their home fans against the Pahokee Blue Devils at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Union County is on a roll after a high-stakes playoff matchup on Friday. They were the clear victor by a 42-20 margin over Holmes County. Given the Fightin' Tigers' advantage in MaxPreps' Florida football rankings (they are ranked 122nd, while the Blue Devils are ranked 313th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Union County's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Simmons, who gained 164 total yards and three touchdowns, and Trenton Klein, who threw for 248 yards and two touchdowns on only 17 passes. What's more, Klein also racked up 84 rushing yards, the most he's had since back in September. Gavin Jenkins was another key player, picking up 101 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Union County wouldn't let Holmes County keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force two fumbles. Union County can thank Bryan Tyson and Ashton Newsom for forcing both of them.
Meanwhile, Pahokee never let their opponents score on Friday. They blew past Chipley 42-0. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Blue Devils just coasted through the last quarter.
Zay Mitchell went supernova for Pahokee, throwing for 312 yards and four touchdowns while completing 87% of his passes. Samuel Arnold helped Mitchell out on the ground, rushing for 112 yards and a touchdown on only 12 carries.
Pahokee was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 201 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 154 rushing yards in ten consecutive matchups.
Union County pushed their record up to 9-1 with the win, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. They've dominated over that stretch too, winning by an average of 39.2 points. As for Pahokee, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
