LAKE 18, UNION 7
Friday night’s contest between Union and Lake was an old-fashioned tale of two halves.
Union took advantage of three Lake turnovers and led 18-7 at the half before the Hornets reeled off 23 unanswered points to take a 30-18 win over the Yellowjackets.
Lake improves to 2-3 on the season while Union falls to 1-4 on the season as both teams begin division play next week.
Lake coach Tate Hanna said his offensive line took over the game in the second half and ran for a season-high 340 yards, led by Jamarrion Blaylock’s 340 yards on 35 carries.
“I thought we had a good game plan but turned the ball over and gave them some short fields and got down 18-7,” Hanna said. “In the second half, we decided to run the ball and throw some short passes. We ran for over 300 yards and most of that was in the second half. I was proud of the way our running backs and offensive line stepped up. The defense really stepped up in the second half and pitched a shutout. I think the kids really responded to being down. They had a big homecoming crowed and it was a good atmosphere. For them to make the changes that were necessary to win was big for us. I thought our kids responded well and really got after it.”
Union got the ball to start the game and went 79 yards in 14 plays as Quinn Harris scored on a 2-yard run with 4:13 left in the first quarter. The try for two failed and Union led 6-0.
The score stayed at 6-0 until midway through the second quarter when Ny’Zavion McClendon recovered a Union fumble. After a 60-yard run, Blaylock finished off the drive with a 1-yard run with 7:30 left in the half. O.D. Hunt hit the PAT and Lake led 7-6.
After an interception by Lake’s Jhaqwon Slack, Union got the ball right back on a fumble. The Yellowjackets then went 25 yards in five plays and scored on a 8-yard run by Myilan Moore. The try for two failed and Union led 12-7.
Union then got the ball back when William Breedlove scooped up a Lake fumble and ran it to the Hornets’ 4. Moore scored two plays later on a 1-yard run with 2:28 left in the half. The PAT failed and Union led 18-7 at the half.
“It was the same old story for us,” Union coach Jordan Wren said. “We threw one interception and fumbled four times. Turnovers are just killing us. And we got banged up in some key spots. We went from up 18-7 to down 30-18. We had trouble tackling them in the second half and missed some big throws that would have made a big difference. We had some penalties that cost us some big yards. When you combine all of that together, it’s a recipe for disaster. We just continued to make those young mistakes.”
Lake got the ball to open the second half and made a statement, going 67 yards in five plays as Blaylock scored on a 33-yard touchdown run with 9:45 left in third. Hunt hit the PAT and Union led 18-14.
It wasn’t until early in the fourth quarter that Lake took its first lead as they went 75 yards in 12 plays as Blaylock scored on a 3-yard run. Blaylock also ran in the two-point conversion and Lake took its first lead at 22-18.
After Lake stopped a fake field goal attempt from Union, the Hornets went 35 yards in nine plays as Hunt scored on a 2-yard run. J.D. Gibson hit Brody Bufkin on the two-point conversion for the final margin of 22-18.
For Lake, the Hornets had 340 yards rushing and 26 passing for 366 yards of total offense. Blaylock had a career night with 286 yards on 35 carries while Jamarii Spivey had 58 yards on three carries. Griffin Boles had a rough night, going 4-10 for 18 yards with two interceptions. He also rushed four times for two yards and had two fumbles.
On defense, Ny’Zavion McClendon had 13 tackles with three tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Blaylock had 6.5 tackles with two tackles for loss while Spivey and Kyran Fortune each had six tackles. Keshun Anderson and J.D. Gibson each had five tackles apiece.
For Union, the Yellowjackets had 129 yards passing and 132 yards rushing for 261 yards of total offense. Quinn Harris had 77 yards on 14 carries while Myilan Moore had 42 yards on nine carries. Moore was 9-of-16 passing for 129 yards with an interception. Mason Tucker had four catches for 60 yards while Zie Buckley had two catches for 32 yards.
On defense for Union, William Breedlove had 10 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Quinn Harris had eight tackles while Buckley had seven tackles. Ben Leach and Aidan Davis each had six tackles.
