By MIKE HUTCHENS
Union City Schools Communications Director
Score another one for David against Goliath.
Kaleb Craig ran for 102 yards and a touchdown and Connor Hurt carried a quarterback keeper 23 yards for a score to help undersized Union City surprise Class 4A heavyweight Haywood 14-7 in the Dyersburg Jamboree Friday night.
The session — which consisted of two 20-minute halves with a continuous running clock until the two-minute mark — was UC’s final preseason matchup. The reigning Class 2A state champion Tornadoes will open their 2018 campaign next Friday with a trip to perennial Kentucky Double-A powerhouse Mayfield.
Things did not start out well for Union City in its final dress rehearsal as the Tomcats, who return 18 starters from last year’s squad that made it to the 4A semifinals, struck on the first play, a 70-yard TD sprint by Decourtney Reed.
After that, the gritty Tornadoes — who started just two linemen over 200 pounds — simply imposed their will on the much-larger Haywood front.
Running its trademark triple-option behind center DJ Gray, guards Neil Brown and Alex Rodriguez and tackles Connor Terrell and Jay Ramsey, UC methodically pounded the Tomcats inside with Craig at fullback before sprinkling in some keepers by Hurt and pitches from the quarterback to Wes Tilghman on the outside.
The Purple and Gold mounted an impressive 18-play that ate up 70 yards to answer Reed’s burst, then scored on its second series of the second half when Hurt followed Craig’s 28-yard burst with a keeper that he bounced outside left to paydirt.
Austin Atwill, making his gridiron debut as a senior, booted through both PATs to account for the rest of Union City’s scoring.
Though the result officially accounted for nothing, veteran UC head coach Darren Bowling was obviously pleased with his team’s effort.
“The David vs. Goliath analogy is good one — those guys were huge,” claimed Bowling, who has directed the Tornadoes to four state titles in the last nine seasons. “I pointed that out to the guys before the game, but I told them that it didn’t matter what size we were on the outside, it was what size we were on the inside that would matter.
“It was a true test for us up front and I thought our guys responded well. We’ve had to move so many guys around this week because of some things — tackles became guards, slots became tackles — we were really inexperienced in several places. We never backed down though, and our guys fought hard. I liked it.”
UC ended up with 181 yards — all on the ground — on 30 carries. The Tomcats, meanwhile, ran just 11 more plays after their first snap and gained but 46 more yards. Haywood did have a touchdown called back due to a penalty.
Hurt ended up with 42 yards on eight carries, while Tilghman gained 37 yards on four touches.
The Twister defense stopped the Tomcats on three straight series after that first play, allowing just two first downs.
Ramsey had three tackles – one for lost yards – and Sam Theobald was in on two stops.
Photo by Mike Hutchens
Menu
