By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City’s 2025 football season officially ended Thursday night following a 42-0 mercy-rule loss at fourth-ranked Huntingdon.
The Tornadoes finished an injury-plagued campaign with a 3-7 record, missing the state playoffs for the first time since 2004. UC last posted a non-winning season in 2011 but made the state quarterfinals that year with a surprising playoff run.
Thursday’s contest was the last in a Twister uniform for a group of seniors that had made three consecutive state quarterfinal appearances before this year.
Among that group was Adrian Crawford, Andre Small, Kirben Thompson, Cohen Wood, Deyton Buckley, Ethan Rogers, and Christian Jones. Aiden Reid and Trey Pitts were seniors who were injured in the preseason and didn’t play, while Martez Liphford was hurt in Week 3 and lost for the season.
“This was definitely not the season we planned on, and I hate it that we weren’t able to send this group of seniors out on a better note,” Union City head coach Nick Markle said following the contest. “These guys came to practice every day with a great attitude, even during the times when they had reason not to because of all that went against them with injuries and other things.
“They wanted to compete and they wanted to win. There were a lot of days when they were uplifting to me. I told each of them I loved them, and the great thing was that they told me they loved me back. I wish we could’ve done more for them.”
The 9-1 Mustangs dominated UC from the opening kickoff in Thursday’s finale, turning three first-half turnovers into touchdowns and racing to a 21-0 lead before the first quarter was half over.
The contest was a microcosm of the Tornadoes’ season as they lost two fumbles and tossed a pair of interceptions – leaving them at minus-17 in the turnover department for the year.
Offensively, Union City struggled too, managing just 85 total yards and five first downs. Just three of the Twisters’ 28 running plays went for more than five yards, with 18 snaps netting two yards or less.
Crawford had by far the biggest gainer of the night for the Purple and Gold with a 50-yard run on a reverse play in the second quarter. UC’s deepest penetration came on that drive that reached the Huntingdon 20-yard line before dying on downs.
Buckley topped the Tornado tackle chart with seven stops, while Wood, Thompson, and Crawford were in on five apiece.
Braylin Dearmon ran for three of Huntingdon’s six touchdowns, and the Ponies locked up second place in Region 7-2A with the victory.
Markle concluded by saying his team’s offseason goals were clear.
“We’ve got to get into the weight room and the guys have to commit to getting stronger and faster – that was especially evident tonight,” he claimed. “We played a lot of freshmen and sophomores out of necessity this year, and while that was challenging, I believe it will pay off in the future.
“Our (next year’s) juniors and seniors are going to have to step up and take ownership of the program. It’s their opportunity, and we’re going to have to build it back doing things the right way.”
Huntingdon 42, Union City 0
Union City 0 0 0 0 — 0
Huntingdon 21 14 7 0 — 42
H — Tyreke Hutch 29 run (Greyson Anderson kick) 9:38, 1st
H — Braylin Dearmon 1 run (Anderson kick). 7:10, 1st
H — Lucas Smith 26 interception return (Anderson kick) 6:06, 1st
H — Dearmon 29 run (Anderson kick). 8:45, 2nd
H — Dearmon 1 run (Anderson kick) 5:17, 2nd
H — Colt Wood 65 run (Ethan Raffield kick). 5:10, 3rd
UC H
Total Offense 85 237
Rush Att.-Yards 28-70 29-230
Comp.-Att.-Int. 3-14-0 1-2-0
Passing yards 15 7
First Downs 5 9
Punts-Avg. 2-15.5 —
Fumbles-Lost 6-2 0-0
Penalties-Yds. 6-42 3-30
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Union City — Adrian Crawford 5-43, Kirben Thompson 11-23, B.J. Boyd 6-10, Andre Small 4-1, Rodney Jenkins 2-(-7). Huntingdon — Braylin Dearmon 10-73, Colt Wood 3-72, Kenton Smith 5-41, Tyreke Hutch 4-36, Kingston Smith 3-6, Hayes Eubanks 2-2, Broox Bennett 1-2, Aydon Woods 1-(-2).
PASSING: Union City — Kirben Thompson 3-14-2—15. Huntingdon — Kenton Smith 1-1-0—7, Braylin Dearmon 0-1-0—0.
RECEIVING: Union City — Rodney Jenkins 1-6, Khazarion Scates 1-6, Kinydee Taylor 1-3. Huntingdon— Broox Bennett 1-7.
RECORDS: UC 3-7 (2-4); Huntingdon 9-1 (5-1).
NEXT GAME: UC’s season ends.