By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Union City took Trinity Christian Academy’s best shot in the first half.
After the intermission, the Tornadoes landed their own haymakers.
Clinging to a two-point lead at the break, fourth-ranked UC erupted for 35 unanswered points over a dominant final two quarters on their way to a 56-19 homecoming romp over the visiting Lions Friday night.
Jacob Arnold, Tayehari Jones, Kolby Craig and Keaten Brown all rushed for more than 100 yards as the Purple and Gold ran wild and ran away from TCA in the second half to remain unbeaten after four games.
Arnold (195) yards and Brown (110) each scored three touchdowns, while Jones (152) and Craig (136) also found the endzone for the Twisters, who rolled up a whopping 599 yards on the ground.
Union City essentially averaged 10 yards-per-carry on 60 rushing plays behind far-superior offensive line play.
The Tornadoes were challenged in the first 24 minutes, though, by their Jackson opposition. Lion sophomore quarterback Kade Butler threw three TD passes in the first half, and UC trailed for the first time this season – on two occasions – after Butler connected with Brayden Walker for TCA leads of 6-0 and 12-7 in the opening stanza.
UC took a slim 21-19 into the break via two Brown scores and a two-point conversion keeper by the Twister QB.
The Tornadoes then took over immediately after the intermission, scoring on five consecutive possessions and invoking the mercy rule early in the final quarter.
“Everybody wants to beat Union City, and we’re going to get everyone’s best because of the success we’ve had – both this season and in the past,” UC head coach Nick Markle said afterward. “We got challenged tonight by a team that made some plays early and gained some confidence.
“I was pleased that we were able to rise above that, play hard, and get a running clock in the second half.”
After Butler threw for 187 yards in the first half, the Tornadoes put the clamps on the Lion offense to the tune of 2-of-8 passing (14 yards) and 10 yards rushing in the visitors’ first four possessions after the break. Trinity Christian managed just one first down during that time.
Linebacker Gage Smith, seeing duty only on the defensive side of the ball due to a shoulder ailment, had six tackles to spearhead the second-half shutout. Teammate Durrell Littleton was also in on a half-dozen stops, including three on special teams plays.
“Coach (Wade) Maddox made a great adjustment at halftime, and we challenged them to beat us running the football by changing up our coverages,” Markle added. “You could tell it was a different ballgame in the second half.
“I believe a lot of that started with our senior leadership up front. Hayden Kennedy did a great job keeping us mentally in the game. He was pumping the positivity as soon as we came out after halftime and telling the guys there was no way we were going to lose this homecoming game.”
While the offensive wealth was spread between the aforementioned quartet of 100-yard rushers, Markle stated the obvious while complimenting his trenchmen for their efforts.
“Our big guys were just moving their guys around,” the coach stated. “And there’s no doubt that our offseason has been paramount to our success. Our guys busted their behinds in the weight room, and you can see it, especially up front.
“In the past, my mentality has been to try and maintain strength. This year, it’s to get stronger as the season goes on.
“And, another thing, we are able to move some guys around when we need to because of injuries or other things. We adjusted on the fly and got some folks in different positions tonight, and they excelled. That was good to see and is the mark of a good football team with good leadership.”
Senior Perla Ruiz was crowned Homecoming Queen in halftime ceremonies. Naryah Avent and Maria Martinez were named senior Princesses.
The remainder of the court consisted of freshman maid Breanna McLendon, sophomore made Alli Kate Frilling, and junior maid Shelby Bondurant.
Union City is back at home next week, hosting Gibson County in a Region 7-2A game.
UNION CITY 56, TCA 19
TCA 12 7 0 0 — 19
Union City 13 8 21 14 — 56
TCA — Brayden Walker 62 pass from Kade Butler (kick blocked) 11:46, 1st
UC — Jacob Arnold 27 run (Finn Frankum kick) 6:44, 1st
TCA — Walker 8 pass from Butler run (pass failed) 5:51, 1st
UC — Keaten Brown 1 run (kick failed) 3:29, 1st
UC — Brown 9 run (Brown run) 6:01, 2nd
TCA — Lekhy Thompkins 16 pass from Butler (Pierce Holsinger kick) 2:50, 2nd
UC — Keaten Brown 1 run (Frankum kick) 7:26, 3rd
UC — Arnold 31 run (Frankum kick) 4:38, 3rd
UC — Tayehari Jones 83 run (Frankum kick) 2:17, 3rd
UC — Kolby Craig 17 run (Frankum kick) 10:59, 4th
UC — Arnold 14 run (Frankum kick) 6:12, 4th
TCA UC
Total Offense 278 599
Rush Att.-Yards 14-19 60-599
Passing Yards 259 0
Comp.-Att.-Int 15-31-0 0-2-0
First Downs 12 27
Punts-Avg. 4-27.7 —–
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties-Yds. 5-30 9-82
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: TCA — Lekhy Thompkins 11-17, Kade Butler 2-15, Team 1-(-13). Union City — Jacob Arnold 19-195, Tayehari Jones 9-152, Kolby Craig 12-136, Keaten Brown 19-110, Durrell Littleton 1-6.
PASSING: TCA — Kade Butler 15-31-0 – 254. Union City — Keaten Brown 0-2-0—0.
RECEIVING: TCA — Brayden Walker 7-137, Will Wysor 3-55, Lekhy Thompkins 3-40, Joshua Delk 1-15, Cooper Vailes 1-12. Union City — None.
RECORDS: TCA 1-3, Union City 4-0.
NEXT GAME: UC hosts Gibson County, Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m..