By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Things started off bad for Union City against Gibson County when the Golden Tornadoes had a long touchdown pass called back due to a penalty on their very first play.
They got much worse soon afterward.
UC lost seven of a school-record 12 fumbles and the Pioneers returned three of those turnovers for touchdowns to stun the Purple and Gold 61-35 in Region 7-2A play Friday night at Yates Field.
The win was GC’s first-ever against the Twisters in 17 all-time meetings.
The shocking loss broke Union City’s three-game winning streak and left the Tornadoes at 1-1 in league play heading into next week’s contest at Class 4A Jackson South Side. The contest will serve as the beginning of a tough three-game stretch that will see the Twisters also play defending 2A state champion Trenton and 4A Dyersburg.
UC ran up and down the field against Gibson County to the tune of 468 rushing yards and 480 altogether, but repeatedly shot itself in the foot with a barrage of fumbles. Some came on center-quarterback exchanges, others on poor or bobbled pitches in the Tornadoes’ triple-option offense.
And the Pioneers were opportunistic — scoring after each of the seven Twister turnovers – including two TDs in the final 2:52 of the first half that gave GC a 35-21 advantage that Union City could never overcome.
“In my 29 years of coaching football, I’ve never had a game like this,” UC head coach Darren Bowling said afterward. “I really don’t have an answer of how or why it happened, but it’s obviously not something that happens very often.
“What a turnaround … you score on the very first play, and then you find yourself down 14-0 halfway through the first quarter and your defense hasn’t given up any of that. To give up three scoops and scores is almost unheard of in one game.
“The thing is, several of the fumbles came on the most basic fundamental of the game – snapping and receiving the snap of the football. It’s not like they (Gibson County) were stripping the football, it was just a lot of our own doing.”
UC matched its fumble total from the first four games combined with the dozen bobbles. The Twisters had lost but four of those fumbles in the first month of the season.
And GC took advantage, converting scoops-and-scores on Union City’s second and third possessions – one covering 28 yards and the other 72 as the Tornadoes were threatening to tie the game midway through the first period.
The Pioneers then made UC pay the ultimate turnover price one final time when Austin Fletcher rambled 20 yards with a fumble recovery with just under three minutes to play.
The Twisters scored on three straight possessions to erase a 14-0 deficit and lead by a touchdown midway through the second quarter. Wes Tilghman’s six-yard TD scamper got Union City on the scoreboard late in the opening frame before Sam Theobald rambled 57 yards to paydirt and Travon Westbrook darted 19 yards to the endzone to give the Tornadoes their last lead at 21-14.
GC answered right back though, barely a minute later, then cashed in on two UC fumbles in the final five minutes to take a 35-21 lead into the intermission.
The Tornadoes did briefly make it a one-possession game early in the third stanza when Theobald, who rushed for 266 yards on 32 keepers, scored the second of his three TDs on a one-yard dive to make it 35-28.
Gibson County was unfazed, however, as quarterback Adam Smithson bolted 48 yards for a score on a fourth-down play and the Pioneers then scored three more times in the fourth quarter.
Bowling noted UC’s huge yardage output, then wondered aloud “what if,” as he continued to discuss his team’s mistake-plagued offense.
“Just imagine if we’d have held on to the football,” he said when told his team amassed nearly 500 total yards. “They never stopped us. That’s the really tough thing … knowing the other team’s defense never stopped us.
“I thought we had them on their heels when we got up 21-14 and sorta weathered that first storm of turnovers. We had them going into their bag of tricks in the second quarter, but they made them work and we helped them with the two fumbles right before halftime.”
Fullback Justin Wiggins was a focal point of the Gibson County defense and had just eight carries after averaging more than 25 per-game in UC’s first four outings. Still, Wiggins gained 80 yards on those limited touches.
Tilghman netted 78 yards on nine carries and caught Theobald’s only completion in five tries, the reception going for 12 yards.
On defense, Theobald had nine tackles and Neil Brown was in on six for the Tornadoes.
Bowling did promise he and his staff would get to work immediately correcting the cause of the turnovers.
“I really don’t have an answer (why the turnovers happened). But it’s my job to fix it,” he said. “I don’t really know right now.
“Sometimes the stars just don’t align. They certainly weren’t lined up for us tonight.”
Gibson Co. 61, Union City 35
Union City 7 14 7 7 — 35
Gibson Co. 14 21 6 20 — 61
GC — Ethan Ward 28 fumble return (Hayden Crandall kick). 6:24, 1st
GC — Caleb Johnson 72 fumble return (Crandall kick). 5:01, 1st
UC — Wes Tilghman 6 run (Miguel Sanchez kick). 0:49, 1st
UC — Sam Theobald 57 run (Sanchez kick). 11:29, 2nd
UC — Travon Westbrook 19 run (Sanchez kick). 6:40, 2nd
GC — Hayden McGuire 1 run (Crandall kick). 5:25, 2nd
GC — Colton Lumpkin 17 run (Crandall kick). 2:52, 2nd
GC — Adam Smithson 14 run (Crandall kick). 1:35, 2nd
UC — Theobald 1 run (Sanchez kick). 8:39, 3rd
GC — Smithson 48 run (no kick attempted). 6:26, 3rd
GC — McGuire 39 run (run failed). 10:19, 4th
UC — Theobald 5 run (Sanchez kick). 6:52, 4th
GC — McGuire 47 run (Crandall kick). 3:10, 4th
GC — Austin Fletcher 20 fumble return (Crandall kick). 2:57, 4th
UC GC
Total Offense 480 398
Rush Att.-Yards 61-468 29-263
Comp.-Att.-Int 1-5-0 7-15-0
Passing Yards 12 135
First Downs 25 13
Punts-Avg. 1-28 4-27.0
Fumbles-Lost 12-7 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 5-35 4-51
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Union City — Sam Theobald 32-266, Justin Wiggins 8-80, Wes Tilghman 9-78, Travon Westbrook 9-36, Kyrell Littleton 3-8. Gibson Co. — Adam Smithson 11-125, Hayden McGuire 13-123, Colton Lumpkin 2-22, William Cantrell 1-(-7).
PASSING: Union City — Sam Theobald 1-5-0—12. Gibson Co. — Adam Smithson 7-14-0—135, William Cantrell 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING: Union City — Wes Tilghman 1-12. Gibson Co. — Colton Lumpkin 3-38, William Cantrell 1-74, Wyatt Hollis 1-19, Ethan Turner 1-13, Hayden McGuire 1-(-9).
RECORDS: Union City 3-2 (1-1); Gibson Co. 4-1 (2-0).
NEXT GAME: UC plays at Jackson South Side, Friday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.
Photo by Mike Hutchens.
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