By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City did not back down from the challenge of facing No. 1-ranked Milan.
An inspired Tornado effort simply wasn’t good enough, though, to overcome season-long struggles with turnovers and penalties in what was ultimately a 35-13 UC loss to the unbeaten Bulldogs Friday at War Memorial Stadium.
The Twisters will head now into an open date with a 2-5 overall record, 1-2 in rugged Region 7-2A, before hosting Gibson County for Senior Night Oct. 17.
Union City scored the second-most points of anybody against 7-0 Milan this season and exhibited full-blown intensity and enthusiasm from start to finish despite Friday’s loss.
Four lost fumbles and 10 penalties that cost 85 yards contributed greatly to the Tornadoes’ demise, however.
“Our kids played their tails off,” UC head coach Nick Markle said afterward. “They played with grit. They played with heart. And they played with determination. Milan’s a really good football team, and we hit them and hit them often. I’m proud of our guys for standing up to the challenge.
“Unfortunately, we had to play perfectly to beat them, and that didn’t happen. You can’t put the ball on the ground like we did, and you can’t have the number of penalties that we did. Those are momentum killers, and you end up on the back end of scores like we did tonight.”
The Twisters pieced together a pair of methodical scoring drives of more than 70 yards apiece against a swarming Milan defense and twice moved the ball inside Bulldog territory in the fourth quarter – once to the 23 – before two lost fumbles ended any hope UC had.
Adrian Crawford accounted for both Union City touchdowns – one on a 36-yard scamper on which he reversed field and went around left end to bring his team within 14-7 midway through the second period – and the other on a five-yard sweep in the third period that made it 28-13.
Crawford’s 20-yard gainer on a faked punt highlighted an 11-snap scoring march to help get the Twisters on the scoreboard. UC’s second TD march took 13 plays to cover 72 yards and was highlighted by Crawford’s 18-yard run and a 21-yard pass completion from Kirben Thompson to Alijah Simpson.
Simpson, a converted lineman due to injury necessity, had two catches for 41 yards. The rugged Thompson was the Tornadoes’ leading rusher (67 yards) with several hard-nosed keepers and also completed a pair of passes.
Milan jumped to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, scoring its second TD after recovering a Union City fumble deep inside Purple and Gold territory at the 10-yard line.
The Bulldogs then put up two more scores during a span of 3:20 late in the first half to take a 28-7 lead into the halftime locker room.
The visitors found the endzone for the final time on the first play of an eventful fourth quarter that saw Union City squander a pair of scoring chances with turnovers, and Milan head coach Wade Comer ejected after drawing consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the late going.
“Offensively, it felt good to methodically move the football,” Markle added. “We were able to make some plays on the perimeter with Crawford, and it was nice to have Kirben (Thompson) to pick up the tough yards between the tackles. And we even threw the ball a little, too, against a really good defense.
“Our kids have kept such a great attitude with all we’ve gone through this season. They could be down in the dumps because of the injuries and the other things, but they’ve shown up to practice and continued to work hard with all the changes we’ve had to make offensively, and they really brought it intensity-wise tonight.
“We’re going to take care of them next week and do some fun things during the off week. Sometimes, practice gets monotonous, so next week, we’re going to take care of ourselves and try to get healthy for the final three weeks of the regular season.”
Thompson was a stalwart defensively, too, with a team-best 11 total tackles, including seven solos. Deyton Buckley was in on 10 stops (seven solos, three assists), and Cohen Wood recorded eight total takedowns.
Milan 35, Union City 13
Milan 14 14 0 7 — 35
Union City 0 7 6 0 — 13
M — Cordarius Johnson 15 pass from Zak Summers (Aiden Pennington kick). 9:49, 1st
M — Jaydon Peete 8 run (Pennington kick). 0:15, 1st
UC — Adrian Crawford 36 run (Alex Landeros kick). 6:58, 2nd
M — Peete 6 run (Pennington kick). 5:03, 2nd
M — Peete 7 run (Pennington kick). 1:43, 2nd
UC — Crawford 5 run (kick blocked). 3:46, 3rd
M — Carson Kelly 6 run (Pennington kick). 11:53, 4th
M UC
Total Offense 270 186
Rush Att.-Yards 37-162 44-125
Comp.-Att.-Int. 6-14-0 4-6-0
Passing yards 108 61
First Downs 14 9
Punts-Avg. 2-30.5 2-33.5
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 7-4
Penalties-Yds. 8-64 10-85
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Milan — Carson Kelly 17-84, Jaydon Peete 15-65, Zak Summers 4-8, Cordarius Johnson 1-5 . Union City — Kirben Thompson 22-67, Adrian Crawford 14-59, Logan Puckett 2-5, Team 1-0, Andre Small 5-(-6).
PASSING: Milan — Zak Summers 6-14-0—108. Union City — Kirben Thompson 2-4-0 – 41, Adrian Crawford 2-2-0—20.
RECEIVING: Milan — Cordarius Johnson 4-80, Jaydon Peete 1-15, Jay Donaldson 1-13. Union City — Alijah Simpson 2-41, Cohen Wood 1-12, Kirben Thompson 1-8.
RECORDS: Milan 7-0 (4-0); Union City 2-5 (1-2).
NEXT GAME: UC hosts Gibson County Oct. 17 for Senior Night.