Union falls to Banks in Leopards den
By JARED PUTNAM

The Panthers defense swarms to the ball carrier.

The Panthers had a strong first half in Friday night's matchup against the Banks County Leopards, taking a 13-7 lead in the second quarter. But the Leopards scored with four seconds left in the half, and used that momentum to produce a big second half, downing the Panthers 47-20.

"I thought the first half we played a really good defensive game," said Head Coach Todd Peugh. "They made some adjustments in the second half and we had a hard time stopping it. We gave up big plays."

On the other side of the ball Union County looked strong on offense all night long. "We did a couple of new wrinkles off our runs that they hadn't seen before and it really paid off," said the coach. While the team did have 90 yards rushing, the main success came through the air, as Quarterback Kyle McClure had multiple completions to wide receivers Austin Collins and Taylor Neely, en route to 14/27 passing, 225 yards, and a touchdown pass to each wideout. "Offensively we moved the ball all night," said Coach Peugh. "Kyle had a really good game."

Coach Peugh said that size advantages and disadvantages made the passing attack necessary. "They were huge up front," said Coach Peugh, referring to Banks defensive line. But that mismatch was somewhat neutralized by the fact that the Panthers had a size advantage at receiver, where Collins and Neely were noticeably larger than the Leopards cornerbacks.

Austin Collins hauls in another big catch just out of the reach of the Leopards defender.

In fact, the coach said that while the Panthers are not typically

a passing team, he regretted not airing it out even more. "27 times is a lot for us," said the coach. "We're not a big throwing team. But we probably should have thrown it even more than what we did."

The Panthers had a lot of big gains, including several of more than 20 yards each. But turnovers led the team to miss key opportunities to add to their point total. "We really should have had probably two to three more touchdowns," said Coach Peugh. "There's nothing good about losing, but when you move the ball [like we did Friday night], you feel like you have made some progress."

The coach was also pleased with the way the players kept fighting until the end. "When Banks scored their last touchdown, Josh Akinson blocked the extra point," said Coach Peugh. "That's a sign to me that individual didn't quit."

The Panthers host Rabun County this week. The Wildcats have had a good year and if they beat Union they will be competing for the number one seed in the subregion when they play Fannin the following week. "I will say the Rabun County game will probably be the first game where we match

up size-wise probably since Oglethorpe," said Coach Peugh. "It would be nice to play the spoiler role."

Special thanks to Krista Miller for game photos.