By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
One play by Tayehari Jones swung the momentum in Union City’s favor and helped turn a close Region 7A showdown into a beatdown.
Jones’ 78-yard kickoff return after Halls had drawn even late in the first half ignited a run of 28 unanswered Tornado points and propelled No. 7 UC past the previously undefeated fourth-ranked Tigers 42-14 Friday night at H.G. Conley Field.
The convincing victory gave the Twisters (6-2, 5-0) a giant boost toward the regional championship – Union City needing just one more win in its final two games to lock up the title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Tornadoes play Humboldt (Oct. 25) and Lake County (Nov. 1) at home the next two weeks to close the regular season.
Jones’ electrifying kickoff return against Halls came 13 seconds after the surging Tigers had scored to forge a 14-all deadlock just before the intermission.
The speedy UC senior jetted down the right sideline in front of the home team’s bench – helped by a block by teammate Kenny Moss – to snatch back momentum for his team after the Tigers had erased the Twisters’ 14-0 first-quarter lead.
Union City then dominated the second half on both sides of the ball, getting a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown from Jones, and long TD runs by quarterback Zak Summers and fullback Aiden Reid to take the driver’s seat in the game and the league race.
“That kick return by Tayehari was just crushing to them,” UC head coach Nick Markle confirmed after the contest. “We’d put that return in during practice last week, and didn’t really know how it’d work because we’d only run it about five times. Tayehari is just so dynamic, and anytime he can hit a crease he has the potential to go the distance.
“The timing of it obviously couldn’t have been better for us. Not only did it give us back the momentum, but with us getting the second-half kickoff, we were able to take that possession, score, and give ourselves the cushion back that we’d had earlier.”
Union City’s second-half defense – after intermission adjustments – was equally as impressive as that of the Tornado offense that moved the ball at will all night and averaged nearly 10 yards per carry on 35 rushes.
The Tornadoes allowed just 47 total yards and three first downs over the final two periods, never letting Halls dent their 35-yard line.
“They came out with some craziness with some things they haven’t done all season,” Markle explained. “That tends to happen when you play someone who had an open date the week before – they had extra time to put in some different looks.
“When they were in their base set (wing-T) though, we totally shut them down. And hats off to (defensive coordinator) Wade Maddox. He made some adjustments at halftime, including putting us in a zone in the secondary. That’s not a look we typically use, but it was effective, and we were able to get two picks that shut down their passing game.”
Deyton Buckley and Andre Small made 11 tackles each to pace a unit that dropped Tiger runners behind the line eight times. Cohen Wood had a huge game on the edge with three quarterback sacks, and Alijah Simpson, Kirben Thompson, and Cohen Simpson recorded 10 stops apiece.
Small and Thompson each snagged interceptions.
Offensively, Summers ran for a career-best 192 yards on just 11 carries, with scoring jaunts of 16 and 45 yards. He had a 77-yard TD sprint on UC’s first snap temporarily wiped away by penalty. Reid did the tough work between the tackles, finishing with 120 yards on 19 carries, including touchdown carries of 1 and 41 yards.
Marcos Landeros was again steady with the kicking game, hitting 6-of-6 PATs and constantly booting his kickoffs deep in Tiger territory.
“Nothing’s officially secure, but this was a big win as far as us reaching one of our goals – which was to get a regional championship,” Markle concluded. “We still have some work to do the next couple of weeks, but this was a great step for our seniors as we look to do something that the program hasn’t done in a while.
“I hope we have a big turnout to honor these guys at Senior Night next week.”
Union City 42, Halls 14
Union City 14 7 14 7 — 42
Halls 0 14 0 0 — 14
UC — Zak Summers 16 run (Marcos Landeros kick). 8:05, 1st
UC — Aiden Reid 1 run (Landeros kick). 3:31, 1st
H — Jermarie Taliaferro 5 run (Jackson Booker kick). 9:27, 2nd
H — Ladarius Roberts 11 run (Booker kick). 1:23, 2nd
UC — Tayehari Jones 78 kickoff return (Landeros kick). 1:10, 2nd
UC — Summers 45 run (Landeros kick). 9:52, 3rd
UC — Jones 50 punt return (Landeros kick). 7:00, 3rd
UC —Reid 41 run (Landeros kick). 7:05, 4th
UC H
Total Offense 353 190
Rush Att.-Yards 35-343 38-99
Comp.-Att.-Int. 2-3-0 7-16-2
Passing yards 10 91
First Downs 12 13
Punts-Avg. — 4-38.5
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 1-0
Penalties-Yds. 5-56 3-25
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Union City — Zak Summers 11-192, Aiden Reid 19-120, Tayehari Jones 3-20, Grant Sinclair 1-16, Team 1-(-5). Halls — Easton Apperson 6-36, Ta’Miyon Gooch 7-34, Ladarius Roberts 10-22, Jermarie Taliaferro 9-8, Tanner Belton 2-5, Khadon Piphus 1-3, Jeri Driver 1-0, Jackson Booker 2-(-9).
PASSING: Union City — Zak Summers 2-3-0—10. Halls — Jackson Booker 7-14-2—91, Tanner Belton 0-2-0—0.
RECEIVING: Union City — Cohen Simpson 1-7, Troy Joslin 1-3 . Halls — Khadon Piphus 3-26, Ladarius Roberts 2-49, Clyce Tettleton 1-16, Easton Apperson 1-0.
RECORDS: Union City 6-2 (5-0); Halls 7-1 (4-1).
NEXT GAME: Union City hosts Humboldt, Friday, Oct. 25, for Senior Night.