By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Four Union City High School senior football players will put on the Purple and Gold one final time.
Kolby Craig, Hayden Kennedy, Hayden Moon and Gage Smith have all been selected to represent the Tornado program in the 11th annual Sports Plus West Tennessee High School All-Star Game.
The contest will be played Friday, Dec. 9, at the University School of Jackson, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
UC head coach Nick Markle was earlier named to head one of the two teams in the contest and will be joined by his entire staff in the week-long experience.
All four Tornado players chosen were two-way standouts for a team that went 10-3 and reached the Class 2A state quarterfinals this season.
Smith shined at fullback and linebacker, leading the team in tackles for the third straight season with 111 this year. He had seven stops behind the line of scrimmage, five sacks, and one fumble recovery.
On offense, Smith was one of five Union City ball carriers to rush for more than 500 yards. He ended up with 578 yards and 11 touchdowns – his 66 points ranking him third on the team. Smith’s two best rushing games were 103 yards vs. Lake County in the season opener and 114 yards against Freedom Prep in the playoffs.
Kennedy anchored a Twister offensive line that produced an average of 375 yards- and 37.9 points-per-game. The three-year starter at center was also a force in the middle of the UC defense that held opponents to 14.9 points- and 194 yards-per-game.
Kennedy also netted 35 tackles – five of those for minus yards. He also had a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception.
Craig ran for 525 yards and four TDs from his slot position in the Tornadoes’ triple-option attack. His best outing came against Trinity Christian Academy when he totaled 136 yards on just 12 carries.
Defensively, he was a solid contributor to the UC secondary, ranking fourth on the team tackle chart with 40 takedowns.
Moon was second behind only Smith in sacks with four and had five tackles for lost yards. Often drawing extra blocking attention from his end post, he still had 34 tackles in all.
He also was a valuable member of the offensive line at tackle, particularly when the team employed its “jumbo” package.
West Tennessee standouts selected for the game will enjoy a banquet, a player draft, and then week-long practices before the contest is played.
McKenzie’s Wade Comer will serve as the head coach of the team, opposite of Markle.