Defense, backup quarterback keep Greer rolling against Union County

Myron Hosea
Special to The Greenville News
Greer defensive end Jakyre Kerns, left, investigated after receiving a scholarship offer from what appeared to be a coach at a prestigious Division I football program. With help from a Greer assistant coach, he learned that the offer was a hoax.

GREER – Leading by just a touchdown after one quarter of the annual Jacket Bowl Thursday night, Greer saw its starting quarterback helped off the field.

There was no letdown, though, as backup quarterback Matthew Huff threw three touchdown passes, and the Greer defense shut out Union County the rest of the way in a 42-7 victory at Dooley Field.

Greer, No. 4 in Class AAAA, improved to 4-1 heading into an open date ahead of a showdown with No. 8 Greenville on Sept. 28.

OTHER NEWS:As Hurricane Florence nears, area high school football coaches recall storms of the past

Huff, a senior, threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Braxton Collins to give Greer a 21-7 lead. It came two plays into the second quarter and just four plays after starter Trey Houston left the game with what Greer coach Will Young said was probably a hyperextended left knee. He added that Houston should be fine.

Huff and Collins teamed up for a 28-yard touchdown pass on the same pass play later in the second quarter. Huff went back to that play again in the fourth quarter, connecting with Miller DeArmond for a 19-yard scoring pass.

“He’s always thrown the deep ball very, very well,” Young said of Huff. “He’s definitely a running threat for us. He’s got good poise as a quarterback. He’s just a tough kid. Does a good job for us. Plays a lot of different spots for us. We knew we’d be OK with him in there.”

A wide receiver when Houston is under center, Huff said he’s always prepared to switch to the quarterback position when needed.

“It was nothing different than what we do in practice, just a different guy throwing the ball,” he said.

Huff gave credit to the team for the result in a game moved up a night because of Hurricane Florence.

“The offensive line helped me out a lot,” he said. “The defense helped me out a lot. Everything went the way we wanted it to go.

“When you have guys blocking up front and threats downfield, you can do pretty much whatever you want to do.”

The defense kept the game in check in a scoreless third quarter despite Union County’s repeated bids to narrow the gap. Three times in that quarter, Union County moved into Greer territory and came up empty.

Defensive back E. J. Bradford stopped the first drive with an interception at the Greer 1-yard line one and the second with a fourth-down pass breakup. Amauri Flannigan ended the third by batting down a pass on fourth down.

Najawuan Smith’s long return of a Union County fumble early in the final period set up the Huff-to-DeArmond touchdown pass.

“There are some active people on that side of the ball," Young said of his defense. "We see them every day, particularly in the defensive front, defensive box. The two linebackers are outstanding. That whole defensive box is really special.”