By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
In a span of just three weeks, Union City has gone from being an afterthought to a team challenging for a regional championship.
The Golden Tornadoes ‑- toughened up by a brutal first-half schedule and decimated by injuries early -‑ won their third straight game and remained in the hunt for the 7-2A title with a resounding 43-6 Senior Night romp over Adamsville Friday at War Memorial Stadium.
Now 4-4 overall and 3-1 in league play, UC is just a half-game behind Trinity Christian Academy (5-3, 4-1) and is tied with fifth-ranked Trenton (7-1, 3-1) in the updated region standings with just two weeks left in the regular season.
The Twisters close out their regular season with away games at McKenzie (next week) and then at Halls (Oct. 26). Two more victories would assure the Purple and Gold of no worse than second place in the final pecking order, guaranteeing them a first-round home playoff game.
Having dropped four of its first five – all against state-ranked opponents that have a current cumulative 30-1 record – Union City’s first-half record was somewhat deceiving. Add to that the fact that the Tornadoes suffered a handful of injuries to key personnel and several observers began to dismiss this season as “one of those years.”
Not so fast.
Made better by facing top-flight competition and with the return of a couple of important players from that injury list, UC has shown flashes of what it was projected to be in the preseason.
“I knew going into the season we had a chance to be pretty good if we could stay healthy,” said head coach Darren Bowling, who has led the Twisters to four state titles in the last nine years. “We were really plagued by the injuries early, and that was apparent with the types of teams that we played.
“We’re starting to get some of those guys back now, and, even though they’re in different positions, their experience is really starting to show. We’re in the thick of things right now, and, given the way the season went early, that’s all we can ask for. We have to take care of our business.”
UC erupted for 37 second-half points – 29 in the fourth quarter – to turn Friday’s close game against Adamsville into a rout. The Purple and Gold scored on drives of 80, 55, 42 and 45 yards on successive possessions after halftime.
Kaleb Craig ran for 145 of his 169 yards in the second half and quarterback Sam Theobald – gaining more and more confidence in third straight start running the team’s triple-option offense -‑ recorded his first-ever 100-yard rushing game with 137 yards, two touchdowns and a conversion to lead the Tornadoes.
Conner Hurt, Union City’s best player to return from the injury list, added 60 yards rushing and a pair of fourth-quarter TDs to add to the Twisters’ biggest scoring period of the season. Hurt also jump-started the big second half by partially blocking an Adamsville field goal attempt with the score tied at 6 with 7:12 left in the third quarter.
“This is the first game all year where we’ve finished,” added Bowling. “It’s something we’ve really been focusing on – not just playing three quarters. I was really happy with that.”
UC gained all 366 yards of its total offense on the ground, meaning the dirty work was done up front by a collection of Tornado linemen.
“We made some adjustments up front at halftime and they really paid off,” the coach continued. “We moved Neil (Brown) around some and it made a difference. He’s just a sophomore, but he’s a good player who’s only going to get better. I thought DJ (Gray) really did a good job inside and Ramsey (Jay) did a much-better job in the second half.
“We really hit them in the mouth a lot harder in the second half.”
Craig was in beast-mode over the final two periods, regularly breaking multiple tackles and carrying Cardinal defenders with him for extra yards on each of his 18 carries and on his way to his eighth 100-plus yard rushing game in as many outings.
He capped his performance by snagging an interception and motoring 60 yards for UC’s final score as time expired.
Ramsey also had a second-half interception for the Tornadoes, who allowed just 92 total yards and four first downs after the break.
Brown led the Union City defense with 8 ½ total hits, including two for lost yards and a sack. Ramsey recorded 6 ½ stops, a pair behind the line.
Next week’s game at McKenzie has a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
Union City 43, Adamsville 6
Adamsville 0 6 0 0 — 6
Union City 6 0 8 29 — 43
SCORING
UC — Sam Theobald 65 run (no kick attempted). 11:06, 1st
A — Brodie Austin 14 pass from Lathan Morris (kick failed). 11:15, 2nd
UC — Theobald 2 run (Kaleb Craig run). 3:49, 3rd
UC — Craig 1 run (Craig run). 11:17, 4th
UC — Conner Hurt 3 run (Theobald run). 5:16, 4th
UC — Hurt 9 run (Austin Atwill kick). 2:02, 4th
UC — Craig 60 interception return (no kick attempted). 0:00, 4th
A UC
Total Offense 193 366
Rush Att.-Yards 21-33 55-172
Comp.-Att.-Int 9-27-2 0-1-1
Passing Yards 160 —
First Downs 8 17
Punts-Avg. 5-23.6 —
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-0
Penalties-Yds. 3-38 4-30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Adamsville — Lathan Morris 14-17, Blake Buntyn 6-10, Donovan Stackens 1-6. Union City — Kaleb Craig 27-169, Sam Theobald 15-137, Conner Hurt 13-60.
PASSING: Adamsville — Lathan Morris 9-27-2 — 160. Union City — Sam Theobald 0-1-1 — 0.
RECEIVING: Adamsville — Brodie Austin 5-66, Donovan Stackens 3-52, Jacob Bowles 1-42. Union City — None.
RECORDS: Adamsville 3-5 (0-4), UC 4-4 (3-1).
NEXT GAME: UC plays at McKenzie Friday night.
Photo by Mike Hutchens
Menu
