Union football coach Jordan Wren has said his team would have to rely on the defense until the offense matured.
On Friday night, the Yellowjackets got both as they pulled off a big Division 5-3A win over Enterprise, taking a 27-13 win over the Bulldogs.
Union (5-2) will host Forest on Friday night.
Wren said he thought his offense played well, especially sophomore quarterback U’Darrian Hickman.
“I thought we played really well,” Wren said. “We are growing up a little bit on offense. Our quarterback was 12-of-17 for 171 yards and three of those incompletions were drops. We were really accurate and moved the chains. I knew it was going to be a tough game for the offense with some starting linemen out and told him it was time for him to step up and make some big plays for us. I think it goes back to our non-district schedule. They were very similar to Leake and we had to grind out some inside runs and really attacked them on the edge and used our speed to gain leverage and made cuts to have some success in the run game.”
The first break of the game when the Bulldogs (6-1) went for it on fourth down midway through the first quarter. Ky’Yon Harris got the stop with a seven-yard loss to give Union the ball at the Enterprise 46.
Union then went 46 yards in seven plays. U’Darrian Hickmon completed three straight passes on the drive and then scored on a 5-yard run with 5:09 left in the first. The PAT by Samuel Alanine failed and Union led 6-0.
After Union forced another punt, the Yellowjackets went 45 yards in 11 plays as Harris scored on a 1-yard run with 6:25 left in the game. Harris also ran in the two-point conversion and Union led 14-0.
Union thwarted an Enterprise scoring drive when Vaiden Bouder recovered a Bulldog fumble.
Union then gave Enterprise a short field when a Mason Tucker punt was blocked with 1:28 left in the half. Two plays later, Enterprise scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left in the half.
Enterprise had another shot before the half when Union fumbled at their own 20. But Carlos Hickmon got the ball right back with an interception at the Union 9 to end the threat and preserve the Yellowjackets’ 14-7 lead at the half.
“I thought the story of the night was the defense,” Wren said. “They gave up 65 yards rushing and forced five turnovers. They were put in third and long a lot and the longer the game went on, the more they had to throw the ball and that’s what you want out of that offense. You have to get a lead and apply pressure and force them into long drives. I thought they got into a hurry and made some mistakes. But hats off to the defense, I thought they played lights out.”
Union made the first mistake of the second half when Hickmon threw an interception and gave Enterprise the ball at their own 8. But the Union defense held, and Enterprise settled for a 30-yard field goal and the Yellowjackets held a slim 14-13 lead with 5:55 left in the third.
Union responded with a four-play, 62-yard drive and scored on a 32-yard pass from Hickmon to Hutchins with 4:30 left in the third. Alawine hit the PAT and Union led 20-10, a score that held through the end of the third.
Enterprise pulled within one score midway through the fourth with a 34-yard field goal with 6:54 left in the game to cut the lead to 20-13.
After a Union punt, the Yellowjackets got another big play on defense when Hickman recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown with 4:29 left in the game. Alawine’s PAT was good, and Union led 27-13 for the final margin.
In a defensive battle, Union outgained Enterprise 191 to 159. Union had 70 yards rushing and 121 passing. The difference was five turnovers by Enterprise and just three for Union.
Hickmon was 12-of-17 passing for 121 yards with a TD and one interception. Xavier Boler had 49 yards on 20 carries to lead the rushing attack. Hutchins had 70 yards receiving on five catches while Ky’Yon Harris had 23 yards on two carries. Mason Tucker had three catches for 22 yards.
Tristan Wallace led the defense with nine tackles while William Hughlett had 7.5 tackles, including four for a loss. Harris had six tackles and an interception while Cameron Jackson had 4.5 tackles. Carlos Hickman had 3.5 tackles and an interception while Vaiden Bouder had 2.5 tackles and an interception.
