By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City had two weeks to stew following a last-play loss to unbeaten Dresden.
That proved to be bad news for Halls.
Showing no ill effects from a heartbreaking setback vs. the highly-touted Lions, eighth-ranked UC bounced back emphatically with a resounding 68-3 thrashing of Halls on Senior Night Friday.
The Tornadoes dominated the contest in all phases, rolling up a season-high 588 total yards and scoring on 10 of 11 possessions to improve to 5-3 overall and 4-1 in Region 7A play.
Quarterback Keaten Brown had a hand in five touchdowns – four running and one through the air – and joined backfield mates Jacob Arnold and Adrian Crawford in the 100-Yard Rushing Club as the Purple and Gold averaged a whopping 14.6 yards per attempt on 37 running plays.
Brown (137 yards) scored three TDS in the first quarter on runs of 52, 16, and 35 yards, then added a three-yard endzone plunge in the second period. He capped the Twisters’ 48-point first half with a strike to a slanting Cohen Simpson, who dashed to paydirt on a 46-yard pitch-and-catch just 27 seconds before the intermission.
Arnold ended up with a team-best 176 yards on just 13 carries, with touchdowns of 15 and 58 yards. Crawford made the most of his three attempts, piling up 120 yards – a 52-yard scoring sprint included.
The Union City defense was just as impressive, limiting the Tigers to 65 total yards and five first downs. The swarming Tornado unit dropped Halls runners behind the line of scrimmage 11 times and recorded three sacks while allowing only a harmless Kaleb Rager field goal early in the second stanza.
Sophomore linebacker Aiden Reid and freshman cornerback D.J. Evans had seven tackles apiece, while Corban Avery had a pair of QB sacks to pace the defense.
Tornado head coach Nick Markle, who said he was somewhat concerned about his troops entering the contest, was understandably a happy camper following the game.
“Our guys assured me all week that their goals hadn’t changed, and they practiced like it,” the UC skipper said. “Then, they came out and played with a chip on their shoulder, were locked in, and played exceptionally well in all facets of the game.
“I told the coaches when we came on the field that it seemed like a month since we last played. I was really pleased with how clean we were, though. We had only three penalties, and we had just one turnover. We didn’t miss tackles or blow assignments, and we were all on the same page.
“I liked almost everything I saw.”
There was no drop-off in the fourth quarter either when Union City reserves scored twice on runs by Kirben Thompson (1 yard) and backup QB Zakary Summers (17 yards).
Marcos Landeros hit 8-of-10 PATs and regularly boomed his kickoffs deep, while Evans had three tackles to headline the Twisters’ special teams effort.
“We’ve talked all season about getting our young guys some experience and building their confidence,” Markle continued. “I think we saw the fruit of that labor tonight. We’ve been spotting some young guys gradually, and they’ve started to develop and gain confidence.
“They didn’t get lost in the speed of the game, and they’re figuring out they can plan this game and help us.”
The coach singled out Evans, Troy Joslin, Deyton Buckley, Elijah Simpson, and Thompson, among others, who showed promising talents.
Senior football players, band members, and members of the cross country and golf programs were recognized along with their families at halftime ceremonies.
Union City will play its next-to-last regular season game on Friday, Oct. 20, when it travels to Humboldt.
Union City 68, Halls 3
Halls 0 3 0 0 — 3
Union City 21 27 7 13 — 68
UC — Keaten Brown 52 run (Marcos Landeros kick) 8:54, 1st
UC — Brown 16 run (Landeros kick) 6:55, 1st
UC — Brown 35 run (Landeros kick) 2:35, 1st
H – Kaleb Rager 30 field goal. (10:01, 2nd
UC — Jacob Arnold 15 run (Landeros kick) 7:49, 2nd
UC — Brown 3 run (Landeros kick) 4:35, 2nd
UC — Arnold 58 run (Landeros kick) 2:14, 2nd
UC — Cohen Simpson 46 pass from Brown (kick failed) 0:27, 2nd
UC — Adrian Crawford 52 run (Landeros kick) 7:08, 3rd
UC — Kirben Thompson 1 run (Landeros kick) 8:30, 4th
UC — Zakary Summers 17 run (kick failed) 1:52, 4th
H UC
Total Offense 65 588
Rush Att.-Yards 22-4 37-542
Passing Yards 61 46
Comp.-Att.-Int 11-21-1 1-2-0
First Downs 5 23
Punts-Avg. 7-31.7 —
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 3-40 3-15
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Halls — Khadon Piphus 7-16, Jeremiah Terry 3-13, Kelvonta Taylor 1-(-2), Easton Apperson 3-(-4), Lane Schnek 1-(-4), Team 1-(-5), Tanner Belton 6-(-10). Union City — Jacob Arnold 13-176, Keaten Brown 8-136, Adrian Crawford 3-120, Kirben Thompson 4-42, Kyle Price 2-21, Zakary Summers 3-17, Jaylen Marshall 3-15, Aiden Reid 1-15.
PASSING: Halls — Tanner Belton 9-17-1 – 56, Lane Schnek 2-4-0 – 5. Union City — Keaten Brown 1-2-0 – 46.
RECEIVING: Halls — Ladarius Roberts 3-4, Khadon Piphus 3-1, Easton Apperson 2-17, Jeremiah Terry 1-23, Lane Schnek 1-12, Jeremiah Harris 1-2. Union City — Cohen Simpson 1-46.
RECORDS: Halls 2-6 (1-4); Union City 5-3 (4-1).
NEXT GAME: Union City plays at Humboldt, Friday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m.