By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Paris, Tenn.–For the first time in some time, Union City’s season opener was a good time.
Kyrell Littleton and Keaten Brown combined for 300 rushing yards and four touchdowns, and Kolby Craig’s interception with a little over a minute left sealed the Tornadoes’ first opening-week win in five years in a 30-24 triumph over Lake County at War Memorial Stadium Friday.
The Purple and Gold scored on its first possession and never trailed after warming up amid a pregame downpour that combined with high humidity to make playing conditions and ball security challenging at best.
A make-shift Union City offensive line necessitated by injuries to Carter Bondurant and Harris Cagle was no less effective, however, as a group made up of Hayden Kennedy, Jayce Rogers, Hayden Moon, Amare Robinson and Evan Alexander did good work against a LC defense that stacked the line of scrimmage.
Littleton at fullback, and Brown, a sophomore making his first varsity start at quarterback, picked up both tough yards in traffic and broke free in space to both go over 100 yards on the ground. Little ran for 184 on 21 carries, with second-half scores covering five and 37 yards, while Brown finished with 116 yards on 16 attempts, reaching paydirt on scampers of three and eight yards in the first half.
Kicker Miguel Sanchez made 3-of-4 extra points and also drilled a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Defensively, despite struggling with open-field tackling at times, the Tornadoes came up with a pair of critical fourth-down stops prior to Craig’s game-securing pick.
Linebacker Gage Smith put up monster numbers with 14 tackles, including seven solos and two for lost yardage. Littleton was in on a dozen stops in all and also made two behind the line, while Kennedy recorded seven tackles and jumped on a fumble recovery.
“We went through a roller coaster of a week with kids going down with injuries and dealing with some senior leaders who weren’t able to play tonight,” UC head coach Nick Markle said after beginning his second season with the triumph. “So much of this game is mental, and when we went out for pregame in the downpour while Lake County stayed inside, that was us basically saying that the elements or nothing else was going to dictate what we did.
“We asked some young guys to step up tonight, and they did for the most part. A lot of it comes down to coaches, and I have the best staff of anyone. They love our kids. They’re hard on them and demanding of them, but our guys know they care and want to make them to realize their potential and be the best they can be.”
Brown’s three-yard sneak into the endzone after Littleton’s 66-yard gallop on the Twisters’ first snap got Union City on the board before the contest was four minutes old.
After LC standout QB Jeremy Ceasar, who accounted for more than 300 all-purpose yards and three TDs, answered the first of his two scoring passes, Sanchez booted his field goal to cap a 14-play UC drive.
Later in the second stanza after the teams had swapped turnovers, Brown culminated an eight-snap, 50-yard drive with another scoring scamper to make it 17-6 at halftime.
The Falcons started the second half with a bang, first recovering an onside kick, then striking on the first play for a 49-yard touchdown connection from Ceasar to Bobby Mays, who broke a pair of tackles and sped to the endzone after taking in a short pass.
Undaunted, Union City answered with the first of Littleton’s TDs after Brown had broken into the clear for a 47-yard gainer to take the ball to the five yard-line.
Lake County again cut the gap to six points when Ceasar ran 15 yards for a score on a 4th-and-3, but Littleton matched that tally with a 37-yard sprint after earlier going for 27 as the big gainers in a five-play touchdown sequence.
The Falcons made things interesting late with their final score, and then coming up with a turnover with 2:28 to play before Craig’s interception a minute later that thwarted a possible game-winning march.
“Our guys answered. They answered everything from the adversity during the week, to the weather in the pregame to anytime it looked like we might be in trouble during the game,” Markle added.
“They just buckled it up every time they had to. We always talk about Fridays being nothing but business, and we came out here tonight and got a paycheck. It was fun, for sure.”
Union City will play at USJ next Friday.
Union City 30, Lake Co. 24
Lake Co. 6 0 12 6 — 24
Union City 7 10 13 0 — 30
SCORING
UC — Keaten Brown 3 run (Miguel Sanchez kick) 8:20, 1st
LC — Malachi Clay 35 pass from Jeremy Ceasar (run failed) 7:13, 1st
UC — Sanchez 30 field goal 11:20, 2nd
UC — Brown 8 run (Sanchez kick) 3:33, 2nd
LC — Bobby Mayes 49 pass from Ceasar (run failed) 11:45, 3rd
UC — Kyrell Littleton 5 run (Sanchez kick) 9:13, 3rd
LC — Ceasar 15 run (run failed) 4:49, 3rd
UC — Littleton 37 run (kick failed) 1:31, 3rd
LC — Jeremiah Williams 18 run (run failed) 3:28, 4th
LC UC
Total Offense 365 316
Rush Att.-Yards 41-148 46-316
Comp.-Att.-Int 13-22-1 0-1-1
Passing Yards 207 0
First Downs 16 15
Punts-Avg. 2-21.0 1-45
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yds. 14-116 8-80
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Lake Co. — Jeremy Ceasar 16-103, Jeremiah Williams 12-40, Jamarius Williams 1-9, Jahmyan Geanes 2-6. Union City — Kyrell Littleton 21-184, Keaten Brown 16-116, Tayehari Jones 2-11, Jacob Arnold 2-8, Kolby Craig 1-8, Team 4-(11).
PASSING: Lake Co. — Jeremy Ceasar 13-22-1 – 207. Union City — Keaten Brown 0-1-1 — 0.
RECEIVING: Lake Co. — Bobby Mays 5-94, Malachi Clay 3-50, Jamarius Williams 2-1, Jeremiah Williams 1-36, Miguel Abbott 1-17, #1 1-16. Union City — None.
RECORDS: Lake Co. 0-1 Union City 1-0.
NEXT GAME: UC plays at University School of Jackson (USJ), Friday night at 7.