By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City saw its postseason hopes end Friday night following a 40-13 loss at Jackson Central-Merry.
The Tornadoes – who could’ve qualified for the Class 2A state playoffs with a win – instead will conclude their 2025 campaign next Thursday night with a trip to fifth-ranked Huntingdon. It will mark the first time in 21 years that UC has not made the postseason.
In what was essentially an elimination game Friday, the Twisters (3-6, 2-3) matched JCM’s opening-possession touchdown with a score of its own when Kirben Thompson threw a 38-yard catch-and-run scoring pass to Adrian Crawford to draw the Twisters to within 7-6.
The Cougars seized control soon thereafter, though, reeling off 33 unanswered points – 20 of those in the second quarter to go up 27-6 at the intermission.
Terrell Williams threw three TD passes and Taeshon Curry ran for his second and third scores of the contest while the JCM defense regularly blitzed Union City’s run game to keep the Tornadoes behind the sticks.
“We didn’t play well enough, and I take full responsibility for that,” UC head coach Nick Markle said afterward. “We knew what was at stake – we’ve been emphasizing it for two weeks – and we just didn’t rise to the occasion like they did.
“I thought we had some chances. We dropped a lot of passes that were in our hands, and, on the other side, they made some tough, contested catches. They were so athletic up front, and they crowded the line of scrimmage and took the middle of the field away from us.
“Bottom line, it seemed like they wanted it more than us. They made plays and we didn’t.”
Thompson accounted for 147 of UC’s 243 yards – 67 rushing and 80 passing.
Andre Small ran for 58 yards, while Adrian Crawford had three catches for 63 yards.
Rodney Jenkins accounted for the Tornadoes’ other touchdown via a 36-yard endzone gallop with less than four minutes to play and the game out of reach for the Purple and Gold.
Defensively, freshman Cameron Beeler had a team-high seven tackles and a forced fumble for Union City. Small, Deyton Buckley, and Cohen Wood were in on five stops apiece, with Buckley recovering a fumble.
JCM 40, Union City 13
Union City 6 0 0 7 — 13
JCM 7 20 0 13 — 40
JCM — Taeshon Curry 1 run (Walker Maharrey kick). 10:30, 1st
UC — Adrian Crawford 38 pass from Kirben Thompson (kick failed). 6:20, 1st
JCM — Jimarious Douglas 24 pass from Terrell Williams (Maharrey kick). 11:50, 2nd
JCM — Curry 13 run (kick failed). 3:37, 2nd
JCM — Machai Hill 16 pass from Williams (Maharrey kick). 0:28, 2nd
JCM — Michael Massey 33 pass from Williams (kick blocked). 8:01, 4th
JCM — Curry 10 run (Maharrey kick). 7:10, 4th
UC — Rodney Jenkins 31 run (Alex Landeros kick). 3:53, 4th
UC JCM
Total Offense 246 283
Rush Att.-Yards 38-166 27-140
Comp.-Att.-Int. 4-18-0 7-17-0
Passing yards 80 143
First Downs 11 14
Punts-Avg. — 2-16.5
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 3-2
Penalties-Yds. 5-45 4-40
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Union City — Kirben Thompson 14-67, Andre Small 9-58, Rodney Jenkins 4-47, Adrian Crawford 9-2, Logan Puckett 1-2, Team 1-(-12). JCM — Taeshon Curry 12-81, Amyre Bond 8-50, Randarious Bradford 2-8, Arin Doxie 2-3, Terrell Williams 2-2, Gerleek Triplett 1-(-3).
PASSING: Union City — Kirben Thompson 4-14-0—80, Adrian Crawford 0-1-0—0. JCM — Terrell Williams 7-17-0—143.
RECEIVING: Union City — Adrian Crawford 3-63, Kinydee 1-17. JCM— Jimarious Douglas 3-74, Machai Hill 3-33, Michael Massey 1-36.
RECORDS: UC 3-6 (2-3); JCM 4-5 (3-2).
NEXT GAME: UC plays at Huntingdon next Thursday night at 7 p.m.