By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–With apologies to all mathematicians, the difference between two and eight was 44 – at least on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Paul Eetzou – a German exchange student who wears No. 44 for Dresden – kicked a 25-yard field goal as time expired to lift the second-ranked Lions to a 31-28 victory over eighth-rated Union City in a Region 7A showdown of Top 10 teams.
Eetzou’s ultimate winner broke the last of four ties in a contest between evenly-matched teams that saw the Lions (7-0, 4-0) escape with their unbeaten record intact while sending the Tornadoes (4-3, 3-1) to a heartbreaking loss after four straight victories.
UC, which had led 7-6, 14-6, and 21-14 in the first half of the back-and-forth contest, forged the last of those deadlocks with 3:33 to play on a 24-yard touchdown run by Tayehari Jones, on which the junior showed some physicality by breaking two tackles. Marcos Landeros evened the count at 28 with a successful PAT, but the remaining time was just enough for Dresden to drive for the winning score.
A 28-yard completion from Cameron Schlicht to Nick Turnbow on 3rd-and-10 was the key play in the Lions’ deciding drive that positioned Eetzou for his heroics. The critical conversion punctuated a theme in the game that saw Dresden convert on either third or four down nine times – seven of those when six or more yards were needed to keep marches going.
“We just couldn’t get off the field on third down – it killed us,” UC head coach Nick Markle acknowledged afterward. “We’d play great defense on first down and great defense on second down, but then we just couldn’t force them to punt.
“You have to make plays when they’re there for the making. When you don’t, great teams make you pay. And Dresden is a great team.”
The Lions piled up 410 total yards and got three touchdowns rushing from Tristan Jett, who ran for 109 yards and caught seven passes for an additional 74 yards. Schlicht threw for 186 yards and rushed for another 81 as Dresden had a pair of 15-play scoring drives before the deciding possession that consisted of nine snaps.
The Tornadoes had their share of good moments offensively, too, as quarterback Keaten Brown ran for 123 yards and two TDs and also hit Cohen Robinson in stride for a pretty 41-yard score on fourth down to cap Union City’s opening possession.
Brown had scoring keepers of three and five yards – the first after an Aiden Reid fumble recovery – the second culminating a 16-play, 71-yard drive that ate up nearly nine minutes of the second quarter and gave UC a 21-14 lead.
But Dresden, which got a 64-yard scoring burst from Jett immediately after the Twisters’ second TD, again quickly answered the Purple and Gold as Schlicht threw a laser to Turnbow down the seam, and the Lion pass-catcher did the rest on a 57-yard touchdown play on the first snap of the ensuing possession.
UC’s Jones had 95 all-purpose yards, 73 rushing on 10 carries, and another 22 yards after snagging a Brown aerial. Jones’ touchdown scamper finished a 10-play, 81-yard sequence after the Tornadoes had gone three-and-out on their first two times with the ball after halftime.
Reid was a ball-hawk for the Twister defense with a team-best 14 tackles, 10 of those solos. Cohen Simpson, Kirben Thompson, and Brown were all in on seven stops apiece.
“That was two hard-nosed, well-coached football teams,” Markle added. “Our guys played hard; their guys played hard. I felt like there were just a few small things that were difference-makers in the end.
“We learned a lot tonight. The most obvious thing we learned is that we have to get better.
“We’re going to heal up next week and do some cleaning up of little things. And we’re not going to beat up each other in practice. We have three more regular-season games and then the playoffs after we return from the open date. It’ll be all hands on deck, starting then.”
Union City will enjoy an open date next Friday, then host Halls on Friday, Oct. 16 for Senior Night.
Dresden 31, Union City 28
Dresden 14 7 7 3 — 31
Union City 14 7 0 7 — 28
D — Tristan Jett 2 run (kick failed) 5:59, 1st
UC — Cohen Robinson 41 pass from Keaten Brown (Marcos Landeros kick) 1:48, 1st
UC — Brown 3 run (Landeros kick) 0:23, 1st
D — Jett 64 run (Jett conversion run) 0:04, 1st
UC —Brown 5 run (Landeros kick) 3:03, 2nd
D — Nick Turnbow 57 pass from Cameron Schlicht (Paul Eetzou kick) 2:54, 2nd
D — Jett 1 run Eetzou kick) 0:25, 3rd
UC —Tayehari Jones 24 run (Landeros kick) 3:33, 4th
D – Eetzou 25 field goal. 0:00, 4th
D UC
Total Offense 410 307
Rush Att.-Yards 31-207 43-244
Passing Yards 203 63
Comp.-Att.-Int 14-20-0 2-4-1
First Downs 19 14
Punts-Avg. 1-19 2-39.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-0
Penalties-Yds. 4-25 8-65
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Dresden — Tristan Jett 14-109, Cameron Schlicht 14-81, Micah Wingate 2-8, Nick Turnbow 1-9. Union City — Keaten Brown 21-123, Tayehari Jones 10-73, Jacob Arnold 11-48, Andre Small 1-0.
PASSING: Dresden — Cameron Schlicht 13-19-0 – 186, Nick Turnbow 1-1-0 – 17. Union City — Keaten Brown 2-4-1 – 63.
RECEIVING: Dresden — Tristan Jett 7-74, Nick Turnbow 5-104, D’Sean Martin 1-18, Creed Melton 1-7. Union City — Cohen Robinson 1-41, Tayehari Jones 1-22.
RECORDS: Dresden 7-0 (4-0); Union City 4-3 (3-1).
NEXT GAME: After an open date next week, UC plays host to Halls, Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m.