By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–The one thing Nick Markle wanted to see in Union City’s second preseason scrimmage, he saw.
And the Golden Tornado head coach was delighted.
“To go from 10 fumbles last week against Dresden to none tonight made it a great night,” Markle said after his team got the best of 5A scrimmage foe five-touchdowns-to-two Friday evening at War Memorial Stadium.
“After last week, handing onto the football was certainly our focus coming in.”
UC’s improved ball security was indeed the most positive thing to come from the two-hour session that saw the Purple and Gold essentially have its way with the Choctaws.
The Twisters scored on all five of their varsity offensive possessions and posted their second straight quality outing on the defensive side, where they again consistently rallied to the ball and allowed only two long TD passes and no sustained drives.
Fullback Kyrell Littleton scored three times on short scoring plunges, and Union City mixed a handful of long gainers in with their grinding scoring marches to have their way with DC.
Kolby Craig found the endzone on a 12-yard scamper after quarterback Keaton Brown ripped off a big chunk of yardage and Tayehari Jones’ long gainer set up back-up QB Jackson Chism’s 10-yard touchdown keeper.
A pair of big pick-ups by Jacob Arnold positioned UC for Littleton’s last two TD dives.
Miguel Sanchez was a perfect 5-for-5 in PATs after Union City scores.
The Tornadoes had their way in the trenches, led by center Carter Bondurant, guard Hayden Kennedy and tackle Harris Cagle, who paved the way for runners to average more than six yards per-carry.
“We’re really trending in the right direction, and I like that,” Markle said afterward. “Defensively, except for the two busted coverages, we were really good again. We stopped the run, and that’s always priority number one.
“I like that we’re playing with some enthusiasm and some passion on both sides of the ball. We’re building toward Week 1 and that’s what you want to be doing at this time in the preseason.”
Dyer County scored three TDs against UC reserves late in the session.
UCMS dominates Fulton County
An evening earlier, Union City showed some good things on the middle school level with a shutout of Fulton County in its first action of the preseason.
Kirben Thompson ran for a score and threw Owen Waggoner for another, Aiden Reid rushed for two TDs, and James Turner had a 30-yard touchdown run for the Tornadoes.
Kyle Price had an interception and Owen Waggoner forced a fumble to pace the UC defense.
Both the high school and middle school Tornadoes will host Milan in a jamboree next Friday at War Memorial Stadium, beginning at 6:30 p.m.