By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City, Tenn.–Union City was on the other end of the whipping stick in its home opener.
The Golden Tornadoes bounced back from a big loss to Lake County in Week 1 with a 48-8 thumping of Martin Luther King Jr. Preparatory School of Memphis Friday night at War Memorial Stadium.
Fullback Justin Wiggins rushed for 146 yards and five touchdowns and the Purple and Gold turned interceptions by Alexander Cox and Sam Theobald into scores while also returning a blocked punt for a TD against the overmatched Rams.
The clock rain continuously in the second half and the final two quarters were shortened to eight minutes as UC reserves saw extensive playing time after the starters built a 48-0 halftime lead.
“All we’re trying to do is get a little better every week,” Twister head coach Darren Bowling said after his team’s rebound victory. “You can’t fix everything in one week and we still have a long way to go, but I thought we looked a lot better tonight in all phases. We played hard and got after them and made some things happen.
“It would’ve been great to have won the opener, but, a lot of times, you learn a lot more about yourselves during adversity than you do in good times. We actually were not that far away from competing a whole lot better in our first game, and I thought we played with some confidence and gained momentum as the night went on.”
Wiggins, who scored on runs covering 9, 3, 12, 3 and 2 yards, also had five carries of 10 or more yards – highlighted by a 45-yard gainer in the second period. He hit paydirt three times in the final 3:23 of the first half, converting short fields after picks and deep returns by Cox and Theobald and later a Cox fumble recovery.
“Getting the turnovers and getting ourselves really close to scoring with those turnovers was a good sign that we can make plays on defense,” Bowling added. “And I thought our offense executed much better when we got inside the redzone.”
UC scored on six of its first seven possessions and added another TD when Travon Westbook scooped up a punt that Carson Corley had blocked and rambled nine yards to the endzone.
Westbrook had 39-yard touchdown sprint on the Tornadoes’ next series.
Freshman Miguel Sanchez was good on 6-of-7 PATs in the contest.
Westbrook had 4½ tackles to lead a Union City defensive unit that came up with five turnovers in all. Neil Brown and Hayden Moon also pounced on fumble recoveries for a unit that held MKL runners to two yards or less on 14 of their 18 rushes.
Brown, Corley and Kyrell Littleton were credited with four stops apiece.
The Rams’ lone score came vs. UC reserves as Kylon Hurd ran 77 yards for a TD on the first snap of the third quarter.
“I thought it was important that the guys felt good about each other, especially after last week,” the Twister coach added. “Trusting one another is a process, and I think we made steps in that direction tonight.”
Union City now turns its attention toward next week and its Region 7-2A opener against Adamsville (0-2) in the second of three straight home games. Bowling said that contest is critical – for several reasons.
“In this region, you don’t want to get behind the eight-ball early,” he insisted. “There are too many good teams with good coaches who know how to scheme and game plan and execute.
“You certainly don’t want to get to late in the season and be fighting for a playoff spot when you’ve missed a chance to win a big game early in the year. It’s a huge game. And we’re just going to try and get a little better again next week.”
Nine persons were inducted into the UCHS Hall of Honors in halftime ceremonies, including Kaleb Craig, Austin Jernigan, Trey Jones, Peyton Edwards, Justyn Johnson, Raven Fair, Colton Quick, Jared Woodward and Eddie Suiter (see separate story).
Union City 48, MLK 8
MLK 0 0 8 0 — 8
Union City 13 35 0 0 — 48
UC — Justin Wiggins 9 run (Miguel Sanchez kick). 9:29, 1st
UC — Wiggins 3 run (kick failed). 3:03, 1st
UC — Travon Westbrook 9 return of blocked punt (Sanchez kick). 11:46, 2nd
UC — Westbrook 39 run (Sanchez kick). 5:53, 2nd
UC — Wiggins 12 run (Sanchez kick). 3:23, 2nd
UC — Wiggins 3 run (Sanchez kick). 2:54, 2nd
UC — Wiggins 2 (Sanchez kick). 1:43, 2nd
MLK — Kylon Hurd 77 run (Kyree Johnson run). 6:23, 3rd
MLK UC
Total Offense 125 332
Rush Att.-Yards 18-100 34-332
Comp.-Att.-Int 4-11-2 0-1-0
First Downs 4 14
Punts-Avg. 3-8.6 —
Fumbles-Lost 4-3 6-2
Penalties-Yds. 7-48 11-70
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: MLK — Kylon Hurd 6-78, Jamerion Morning 7-19, Kyree Johnson 2-4, Cameron Anderson 1-0, Joseph Murphy 2-(-1) Union City — Justin Wiggins 13-146, Travon Westbrook 4-66, Wes Tilghman 9-41, Kyrell Littleton 3-37, Carson Corley 2-25, Sam Theobald 3-17.
PASSING: MLK — Jamerion Morning 2-5-1—18, Joseph Murphy 2-6-1–7. Union City — Sam Theobald 0-1-0—0.
RECEIVING: MLK — Joseph Murphy 1-12, Kyree Johnson 1-8, Darrel Chamber 1-6, Jamerion Morning 1-(-1). Union City — None.
RECORDS: MLK 0-2; Union City 1-1.
NEXT GAME: UC hosts Adamsville, Friday, Sept. 6, at 7 p.m.
Photo by Mike Hutchens.
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