UNION CITY – The Union City Chargers used a big first half Friday night to win their 21st consecutive Big 8 conference football showdown, defeating their visitors from Sand Creek, 36-18.
Both teams got all of their scoring in during a back-and-forth first half, a half that ended with three touchdowns scored in just over a minute and thirty seconds of game time.
Union City controlled the ground in the winning effort, out gaining Sand Creek 249-57 on the ground and 337-176 in total yardage. The Chargers also took advantage of two big fumbles lost by Sand Creek while the Aggies got one back from Union City in the contest.
So, What Happened?
Union City was dominant from the opening kickoff, scoring on their first drive and never looking back, eventually building a 22-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Two of Union City’s three scores in the opening run came via the ground game as Kenny Case scored on an 18-yard touchdown run and on a 1-yard touchdown run by Trey MacDonald. Union City opened their lead to 22-0 as sophomore quarterback Braxton Miller found teammate Mitchell Graham wide open in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown pass, extending the Chargers lead with 10:21 left in the first half.
Sand Creek finally got on the board on their next drive as quarterback Jackson Sutherland found Wyatt Fox for a 12-yard touchdown pass, closing the score to 22-6.
Union City went on to build their lead to 36-6 with just under three minutes left in the half thanks to a pair of touchdowns by sophomore Trey MacDonald who scored on a 16-yard touchdown run with 3:18 left in the half, followed quickly by a fumble returned 31-yards for a score just :31 seconds later to essentially put the game out of reach.
Sand Creek shows no quit, uses back-to-back big plays to claw back into the game
Sand Creek displayed their heart over the next two and a half minutes of play, finding the end zone twice in a short time span. The Aggies first found the endzone thanks to the second connection between Sutherland and Fox, this time for 52-yards for the score. With only :46 seconds left in the half the Aggies found the scoreboard for the last time as Fox showed off his speed, scoring on a 38-yard touchdown run to find what would be the final score of 36-18 as neither team was able to find the end zone throughout the second half.
Top Performers
Trey MacDonald, RB, Union City – MacDonald led all players on the ground, wracking up 100 yards even on 21 carries with two touchdowns. MacDonald also returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Wyatt Fox, WR, Sand Creek – Fox had a day full of big plays, finishing with five catches for 107 yards and two touchdowns to go along with three carries for 42 yards and a score. On defense Fox had 12 total tackles, including two tackles for a loss.
Kenny Case, RB, Union City – Case had a solid day for the Chargers, carrying the ball 13 times for 94 yards and one touchdown.
Jackson Sutherland, QB, Sand Creek – Sutherland finished the day completing 9 of 13 passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Grady Thompson, LB, Sand Creek – Thompson helped lead the Sand Creek defense with nine tackles.
Noah Walters, LB, Sand Creek – Walters had a big day on defense for Sand Creek, recording 11 total tackles and a fumble recovery.
Ian Tuckerman, Sand Creek – Tuckerman was a big part of the Sand Creek defense, recording eight tackles, one for a loss.
He Said It
“Super proud of these guys, I mean we are a young team and inexperienced, but they play so hard. I told them coming in, this is a very physical and very good Union City team, they are going to come right out and punch us in the mouth, and I wanted to see how we would react. They acted just like I thought they would, there is no quit in those boys, they fight until the very end. We have to just keep working to get better, we just have to clean up the few little mistakes we had. In the end we just need to work on us, not worry about who is across from us, just working on us.” – Derek Hewitt Sand Creek Head Coach Football Coach.
What’s Next?
With the win Union City improves to 3-0 on the season and will next take the long trip to Stockbridge to face the Panthers (0-3).
Sand Creek falls to 0-3 overall on the season with the loss. The Aggies will next see action on Friday when they travel to face the Reading Rangers (1-2).