BLAIRSVILLE, Ga. — Michael Perry is known for his offense. But he knows to win titles, you have to have a championship defense.
Based on Saturday's performance against Eagles Landing Christian in the opening round of the Class 2A playoffs, his Panthers may be closer than they've ever been.
The Union County defense held the Chargers to just 215 total yards, recorded a safety, picked off two passes, and had 11 TFLs, including two sacks, to spark a thrilling 24-17 win at Mike Colwell Stadium.
"The defense, they won us this game," Perry said moments after they recorded just their third-ever playoff win in program history. He has two of the playoff wins as coach.
"They contained some really good athletes. They just continue to grow and get better each week."
The Panthers (8-3) will await the Washington-Rockmart winner in next week's second round. A Washington upset win would give Union County the home field.
Senior Kooper Ashcraft, junior Braden Plott, and sophomore Cade Dockery were the main catalysts for the defense. Ashcraft made a beautiful read on the Chargers' third play of the game, tackling bruising running back Brandon Hood in the end zone on a screen pass for the safety. Dockery and Plott each had interceptions for the Panthers and also knocked down a pass.
"That safety really changed the momentum right off the bat," Dockery said. "I feel like we're the most underrated defense in (Class) 2A. Our front-7 are great, and the secondary has improved a lot."
After the safety, Union County used the short field on the ensuing kickoff as Braylen Rader ran for 15 yards, and quarterback Caiden Tanner scored on an 8-yard run for a 9-0 lead less than two minutes in.
"ELCA was a lot better than their record," Tanner said. "That quick start, I think, loosened us up some. There's always some nerves at the start of a game."
Despite the fast start, the Chargers' defense was able to keep Tanner and the Union County offense in check for most of the rest of the first half. The Panthers were stopped on downs deep inside ELCA territory, and the Chargers finally broke through after registering no first downs on their first two drives.
Hood broke four tackles on a 4th-and-1 at the ELCA 36 and rumbled 64 yards for the score to close the gap to 9-7 late in the first quarter.
The teams traded turnovers on their next three possessions, with ELCA eventually using a Tanner interception at the Panthers 19 to set up a 32-yard field goal from Matthew Johnson for a 10-9 lead with 11:53 left in the half.
It was a defensive struggle nearly the rest of the way. The teams traded defensive stops on fourth down before the Panthers got the ball back at the Chargers 46 with 1:27 left in the half following a punt. Union County needed just two plays to finally reclaim the lead.
Tanner scrambled for 11 yards and got a 15-yard facemask penalty added on. He then connected with Jensen Goble on a 20-yard TD pass and added a 2-point conversion pass to Dockrey for a 17-10 lead the Panthers took into halftime.
"We played really, really bad overall on offense in the first half, but I'm proud of how they found a way to get the win," Perry said. "I thought we did better in the second half."
In the second half, the defenses held on 8 of 10 drives combined, including each stopping the other offense on downs inside their territory. The key drive in the second half for the Panthers had Tanner going 5-for-5 for 64 yards, with Rader finishing off a 9-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run for a 24-10 lead late in the third quarter.
The Chargers answered late in the fourth quarter with a 12-play, 88-yard drive, with Hood pulling them within 24-17 on a 3-yard run with just 3:37 left. ELCA got the ball back one last time, but the Panthers forced an incomplete pass on 4th-and-1 to preserve the win with 43 seconds left.
Hood finished with 106 yards rushing, but the Chargers as a team were held to 135 yards rushing and just 18 yards on 13 carries in the second half.
Rader pounded out 105 yards on 22 carries, while Tanner, Class 2A's top passer in the regular season, finished with 176 yards passing for Union County. Goble had 8 catches for 72 yards, and Dockery had 3 catches for 49 yards.
