While it was all tied up 21-21 at halftime, The East Jackson Eagles were not quite the Union County Panthers''s equal in the second half on Friday. East Jackson took a hard 42-28 fall against Union County. It was the first time this season that East Jackson let down their fans at home.
East Jackson's lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Drew Richardson, who threw for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Another player making a difference was Talan Jackson, who picked up 64 receiving yards and two touchdowns.
Union County had a senior duo take command as Braylen Rader gained 235 total yards and three touchdowns and Caiden Tanner threw for 350 yards and three touchdowns while completing 75% of his passes. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan McBride, who picked up 156 receiving yards and a touchdown.
The team's defense also helped out by holding East Jackson to a paltry 238 yards. A big part of that defensive dominance came down to Union County's ability to keep the quarterback under pressure: the team laid him out three times before it was all said and done. Leading the way was Seth Rutan and his two sacks.
East Jackson's defeat dropped their record down to 6-3. As for Union County, they are on a roll lately: they've won five of their last six games, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season.
Both teams are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. East Jackson will take on Providence Christian Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. As for Union County, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Athens Academy at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. The pair might be coming in a bit winded given how much these teams ran in their prior games.
