What We Saw: Chester 54, Union County 12

Brandon Stockdale September 20, 2024 @ 11:28 PM

UNION | Chester head coach Victor Floyd was originally planning to hold his son and star quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='457973' first='Trooper' last='Floyd'] (pictured above) out until next Monday as he's missed the last few weeks with an injury, but after seeing him in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, he decided to play him a week early.   Floyd came back strong and didn't miss a beat, tossing four touchdowns and rushing for another as the Cyclones routed Union County 54-12 on Friday night.   “He had a solid performance. He did what we expected. He's been doing it for four years so, he knows it like the back of his hand and it was a good effort up front by the offensive line. I thought they did a good job. The guys made some plays,” Floyd said.   SPREADING THE WEALTH   The first impact play he made was on a 32-yard scramble on Chester's opening drive, setting up a 42-yard strike to [player_tooltip player_id='1578828' first='Zeke' last='Evans'] on the rollout as they drew first blood, taking a 6-0 lead with 9:42 to play in the opening quarter as the two-point try was no good.   The next drive? It was much of the same –- throw in a Floyd scramble plus a 15-yard penalty before he connected with Tyler Williams for a 12-yard score to go up 14-0 with 5:58 in the first quarter, as the two-point try was good this time.    [player_tooltip player_id='1603999' first='Caleb' last='Feaster'] ran it back-to-back times on the ensuing series, with second being a 9-yard touchdown run as the Cyclones went up 20-0 with 3:15 to play in the first quarter. The two-point try was picked off.   He broke off a long run, this time a 23-yard run in the early stages of the second quarter. That set up a Floyd 4-yard touchdown run as Chester took a 26-0 lead with 9:28 to play before the half. Things went from bad to worse for the home team as they fumbled the ensuing kickoff.   Chester took advantage as Floyd threw his third touchdown pass of the half on a wheel route to Omari Pendergrass as the Cyclones went up 32-0 with 5:43 to play in the first half.   STELLAR DEFENSE   Union's best drive of the first half got into Chester territory as they got their first 1st down on that drive, but it was thwarted by a [player_tooltip player_id='1578828' first='Zeke' last='Evans'] interception with 2:08 to play in the first half. Floyd capped off an excellent first half, connecting with Pendergrass again in the left corner of the end zone as the Cyclones took a 38-0 lead to the halftime locker room.   Evans made a nice pass breakup on third down to force a punt in the first half, a part of an impressive night defensively – he got in the backfield to trip the quarterback up on a keeper. [player_tooltip player_id='816734' first='Terry' last='Radford'], [player_tooltip player_id='1603965' first='Luke' last='Reed'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1165099' first='Darriyarn' last='Baxley'] harassed the Union County offensive line all night long.   “They continue to wreak havoc. [player_tooltip player_id='1592591' first='Zy' last='Whitlock'] played well at mike (linebacker) tonight. Guys continue to make plays. They've done it all year – they continue to do it,” Floyd said.   The second half featured Union County going exclusively to the wildcat, as they were able to punch it in with Jakevious Jennings to cut into the Cyclones' lead at 38-6 with 9:26 to play in the third quarter. The momentum was short-lived as [player_tooltip player_id='1592278' first='Hudhaifah' last='Taylor'] scored with 5:29 to play in the third. Jakobe Starkes Wright closed the scoring night for the Cyclones with a touchdown run in the fourth quarter.   Union County would finish the night on a positive note as Ashton Stewart caught a touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter.

UNION | Chester head coach Victor Floyd was originally planning to hold his son and star quarterback Trooper Floyd Trooper Floyd 6'1" | 190 lbs | QB Chester | 2025 State SC (pictured above) out until next Monday as he's missed the last few weeks with an injury, but after seeing him in practice on Tuesday and Wednesday, he decided to play him a week early.