HOMER, Ga. — Caiden Tanner was tough to stop as Union County reeled off 35 unanswered points to cruise past Banks County, 42-7, at Leopard Stadium on Friday.
Tanner finished the night with 208 passing yards and two touchdowns and added another 29 yards rushing and three scores. The Panthers finished with 420 total yards of offense.
It was the Leopards' third straight loss after starting the season 4-0. Meanwhile, the Panthers (5-1, 1-0) have won four straight and are at the top of the Region 8-2A standings.
After Union County struck first with a Braylen Rader 16-yard touchdown run, Banks County (4-3, 0-1) quarterback Kolby Watson hit Andrew Shockley on a 70-yard TD strike to tie the game, 7-7.
Then it was a heavy dose of purple rain.
Tanner scored on a 4-yard run, a 24-yard TD pass to Zach Taylor and a 13-yard rushing score to up the lead, 28-7 at the half. In the second half, Tanner rushed in again for his third rushing TD and found Griff Young on a scoring strike to go up 42-7.
Young had 164 combined yards -- 82 rushing and 82 receiving, while Rader totaled 53 yards rushing. Jenson Goble hauled in 78 yards on six catches.
Sam Page led the Panthers' defensive effort with seven tackles and a pass breakup. Wilson Walker ended the night with six tackles.
