By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Union City sent a direct message to the remainder of its opponents in a season-opening romp over Lake County.
“This was a statement game,” Tornado head coach Nick Markle said after the Tornadoes whipped LC 62-14 Friday night in Tiptonville to begin the 2022 campaign. “We wanted everyone to know we’re the real deal, and we’re going to be a problem for some folks this season.”
That memo was crystal clear.
UC dominated the Falcons from start to finish and, in every facet of Friday’s contest that represented the third-most points ever scored in a season-opener for the Purple and Gold.
Jacob Arnold ran for 227 yards and four touchdowns on just 10 carries, and fellow fullback Gage Smith added 103 yards and two scores as the Twisters scored on their first nine offensive possessions while posting the mercy-rule triumph.
Pounding the interior behind the efforts of linemen Hayden Kennedy, Hayden Moon, Kelan Roberson, Carson Collins, Corban Avery and Davian Jeffrey, Union City averaged more than 14 yards per rush and manhandled LC in the trenches while gaining a whopping 524 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Tornadoes were just as impressive. A gang-tackling unit allowed but 62 yards and three first downs in the first half when they regularly swarmed Lake County runners and recorded eight tackles for lost yards.
Kolby Craig was a demon from his secondary post with a team-high eight tackles – two behind the line. Smith was in on seven stops, and Keaten Brown had five, including a pair for losses.
Sophomore kicker Finn Frankum also contributed to the blowout, nailing 8-of-9 PATs in his first regular season varsity action.
“It was a complete performance in all three phases,” Markle continued. “We wanted to jump on them early and start fast because they have some playmakers who make them very dangerous. The goal line stand on their first possession was huge. We never blinked when they got inside our 10.
“And then we popped the big one with Jacob (Arnold) on our first play. We kept building off that and played for 48 minutes, not the first 48 seconds. Our seniors showed great leadership and our whole squad was made up of great competitors. I couldn’t be proud.
“To begin the season like we did, it was a great first step.”
Arnold had a monster night that began when he bolted 87 yards up the middle on Union City’s initial snap for the first of his four TDs. He also had scoring jaunts of 33, 30 and 43 yards and had a fifth touchdown called back by penalty after snagging an interception and scooting 73 yards to paydirt.
Arnold also had a fumble recovery.
Smith had touchdown runs of six and 59 yards as the Tornadoes regularly gashed LC up the middle. A 45-yard TD by Craig after a great cut inside made it 42-0 at halftime and brought about a continuously running clock.
UC reserves – made up largely of freshmen – got in on the fun with a pair of fourth-quarter scores. Owen Waggoner rambled 36 yards to the endzone with a little over nine minutes to play before Jaylen Marshall scooted 14 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring.
“You have 24 hours to enjoy this, and then we turn our attention to USJ,” Markle told his troops in a postgame huddle. “They’ll bring a very good and disciplined football team to our place for our home opener, and they’ll prepare us for what we’ll see down the line when we get into the meat of our schedule.”
Kickoff for Union City’s first home game next week is set for 7 p.m.
UNION CITY 62, LAKE CO. 14
Union City 14 28 7 13 — 62
Lake County 0 0 6 8 — 14
UC — Jacob Arnold 87 run (Finn Frankum kick). 8:11, 1st
UC — Gage Smith 6 run (Frankum kick) 1:44, 1st
UC — Arnold 33 run (Frankum kick) 11:15, 2nd
UC — Smith 59 run (Frankum kick) 8:44, 2nd
UC — Arnold 30 run (Frankum kick) 6:20, 2nd
UC — Kolby Craig 45 run (Frankum kick) 1:20, 2nd
UC — Arnold 43 run (Frankum kick) 10:05, 3rd
LC — Jeremy Ceaser 9 run (pass failed) 7:47, 3rd
UC — Owen Waggoner 36 run (kick failed) 9:15, 4th
UC — Jaylen Marshall 14 run (Frankum kick). 6:40, 4th
LC — Camden Chamberlain 43 run (Chance Estes run) 0:59, 4th
UC LC
Total Offense 524 190
Rush Att.-Yards 37-524 27-185
Comp.-Att.-Int 0-0-0 3-8-1
First Downs 17 6
Punts-Avg. — 3-31.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 10-80 8-69
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Union City — Jacob Arnold 10-227, Gage Smith 7-103, Kolby Craig 2-63, Keaten Brown 8-59, Owen Waggoner 1-36, Tayehari Jones 3-26, Jaylen Marshall 1-14, Kirben Thompson 2-3, Peyton Buckley 1-1, Aiden Reid 1-(-3), James Turner 1-(-5). Lake County — Calvin Mullins 9-63, Camden Chamberlain 6-49, Jahmyan Geanes 1-29, Chance Estes 2-26, Jeremy Ceaser 9-18.
PASSING: Union City — None. Lake County — Jeremy Ceaser 3-8-1—5.
RECEIVING: Union City — None. Lake County — Malachi Clay 2-1, Jaquan Kinney 1-4.
RECORDS: Union City 1-0; Lake County 0-1.
NEXT GAME: UC hosts USJ Friday, Aug. 26.