By Mike Hutchens
UC Schools Communications Director
In the immediate aftermath of a heartbreaking 7-6 loss to Jackson South Side in which Union City lost a pair of two-way starters to significant injuries, Darren Bowling nonetheless displayed a “glass half-full” attitude.
“Tonight was a worst-case scenario. But our guys fought and gutted it out until the very end and still had a chance to beat a team that was state-ranked in Class 4A,” the Tornado head coach coach said after Friday’s setback that dropped the No. 1-ranked and reigning Class 2A champion Purple and Gold to 0-2.
“I can’t say enough about our character, tenacity and the grit our guys showed. They never put their heads down and every time more adversity hit, they just adjusted and said ‘let’s play football.’
“Staying positive is the only mentality we can have. There will be no excuses or pessimism. We’ll be resilient. And I truly believe God has good things in store for this football team this year.”
UC will move forward and look to rebound without the services of Preston Little and Conner Hurt – at the very-least for the foreseeable future.
Little, normally a receiver, but a tailback Friday due starter Wes Tilghman being sidelined with a shoulder injury, suffered what was feared to be a severe knee injury on the Twisters’ first series. Little was also a starter and key player in the secondary on defense.
The Tornadoes endured another devastating blow late in the third quarter when starting quarterback/defensive back Conner Hurt went down with a broken left arm that required surgery on Saturday.
The team’s No. 2 rusher, Hurt had earlier keyed Union City’s lone touchdown drive in the third period with 27 yards on five keepers.
Despite that adversity, UC still had a chance to knock off the No. 9 Hawks, thanks to a spectacular defensive effort.
The Twisters did not allow an offensive TD and limited a SS bunch that had scored 55 points the week before to just 139 total yards.
Linebacker Jay Ramsey led the stingy unit with six tackles (one for lost yards) and four assists, while Kaylon McLendon chipped in with five solos and four assists.
Kaleb Craig had a pair of stops behind the line and recovered a fumble, and Carson Corley had a big fourth-down sack among his five tackles.
“Our defense was lights-out… just outstanding,” Bowling confirmed. “What they did against a very-athletic team that was so explosive last week was just amazing.”
Union City won every statistical category in the contest except the final score.
The Tornadoes had twice as many yards as South Side (306-139), ran 22 more plays, and kept the ball for well over 30 of the game’s 48 minutes.
After threatening twice in the first half – turned away at the South Side 10 where it missed a field goal, and reaching the visitors’ 20 on consecutive possessions – Union City then committed a costly mistake that led to the Hawks’ only score.
An errant option pitch on fourth-and-goal from the 20 bounced to the turn and was scooped up by Quad Greer, who rumbled 73 yards to the endzone, just a minute before halftime. Matthew Steen’s PAT provided the ultimate final margin.
The Tornadoes did finally break through on their opening series of the second half, marching 67 yards on 10 plays, bruising fullback Kaleb Craig (31-183) busting loose for a 28-yard gainer and then capping the march with a two-yard touchdown. Austin Atwill’s point-after was wide left though, keeping the count at 7-6.
With Hurt out and his back-up, Tilghman, not suited up, Bowling called on Sam Theobald to try and mount a game-winning rally.
Theobald provided a glimmer of hope with a 45-yard option keeper on the next-to-last play of the contest to get UC to the South Side 33, but, with no timeouts left, a rushed final play was stuffed by the Hawk defense.
“What a great job Sam did, stepping in there without having very many reps in practice,” Bowling said. “I have great confidence in him, and so do his teammates.
“We’re just going to go back to the drawing board, see who we have, and adjust moving forward. It’ll be a day-to-day process, but I expect us to continue to work hard in practice and get better each time out.”
An early-season Region 7-2A showdown against rival Trenton at home is up next for UC next week.
South Side 7, Union City 6
South Side 0 7 0 0 — 7
Union City 0 0 6 0 — 6
SS — Quad Greer 73 fumble return (Matthew Steen kick). 1:00, 2nd
UC — Kaleb Craig 2 run (kick failed). 6:11, 3rd
SS UC
Total Offense 139 306
Rush Att.-Yards 29-112 56-303
Comp.-Att.-Int 3-8-0 1-3-0
First Downs 9 17
Punts-Avg. 2-24.5 —
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yds. 2-21 4-40
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: South Side — Eric Latham 18-83, Austin Clark 7-25, Frazier Ellison 3-12, Tyler Carver 1-(-8). Union City — Kaleb Craig 31-186, Conner Hurt 14-55, Sam Theobald 14-55, Travon Westbrook 1-10, Preston Little 2-4, Team 2-(-4),
PASSING: South Side — Tyler Carver 3-8-0—27. Union City — Conner Hurt 0-1-0—0, Sam Theobald 1-2-0—3.
RECEIVING: South Side — Jerrion Vinson 2-18, DeSean Pope 1-9. Union City — Kaylon McLenson 1-3.
RECORDS: JSS 2-0, UC 0-2.
NEXT GAME: UC hosts Trenton next Friday, while JSS plays at Chester County.
Photo by Mike Hutchens
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