Without playing a preseason jamboree, Union coach Jordan Wren expected some first-game issues on Friday night.
Whatever problems the Yellowjackets had, it wasn’t enough for Choctaw Central and Union opened the season with a 39-13 win on Friday night.
Union, now 1-0 on the season, will travel to Class 2A favorite Scott Central next week in a battle of former division rivals.
While Wren said he was pleased with the effort, there were things he didn’t like.
“It was sloppy, just sloppy,” Wren said. “I didn’t like it at all. It was some first-game kind of stuff. I’m a big believer of staying on schedule. I want it to be second and six, not first and 20. We had four or five situations where we didn’t convert because we got behind the chains. I’m proud we won but not proud with how sloppy it was. If you are going to be great, you can’t put yourself in those situations.”
The Yellowjackets got on the board first midway through the first quarter as Clay hit Brandon Killens on a 53-yard touchdown pass with 6:14 left in the first. The try for two failed and Union led 6-0.
The Yellowjackets got back on the board early in the second quarter as Clay hit Kaleb Casey on a 14-yard pass with 10:26 left in the half. The PAT failed and Union led 12-0.
Union continued to extend its lead as Clay got loose on a 45-yard run with 6:15 left in the half. The PAT failed and Union led 18-0.
Choctaw got back in the game late in the half on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 30 seconds left in the half. The PAT was good and Union led 18-7.
But Union answered right back as Clay got loose on a 49-yard run with 17 seconds left in the half. Ky’Yon Harris ran in the two-point conversion and Union led 26-7 at the half.
“With us being down a running back, I was pleased with the run game,” Wren said. “We had some big third-down conversions in the pass game which I was happy about. We got a lot of movement up front and blocked well. Kenyon was 11-of-17 and that’s good for him. We are going to miss Marcus Jones but receiver wise, I think we are more balanced which is a good thing. We were only 2-of-11 on third down which is something we have to be better at.”
Union pulled away in the third quarter with a pair of touchdowns. The first was a 47-yard run by Clay with 6:10 left in the third. The PAT failed and Union led 32-7.
The last score for Union came late in the third as U’Darrian Hickman hit Matthew Lott on a 10-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left in the third.
Choctaw scored early in the fourth on a 12-yard touchdown pass for the final margin.
“I thought the defense played the best of the two groups,” Wren said. “Ky’Yon had a pick and we had a couple of fumble recoveries. We got them off the field on third down. I saw a lot of good things and a lot of things that we have to clean up. I thought as a whole, the defense played well. They had minus 21 yards rushing. The effort was there and they played fast.
The Yellowjackets had 427 yards of total offense with 259 yards rushing and 168 passing. Choctaw Central had 200 yards of total offense with 221 passing and minus 21 rushing.
Clay had a big game as he had 210 yards rushing on 16 carries with three touchdowns. Clay was also 11-of-17 passing for 151 yards and two TDs. Brandon Killens had two caches for 59 yards while Kaleb Casey had five catches for 56 yards and Matthew Lott had 34 yards receiving on four catches.
On defense, William Hughlett led the team with seven tackles while Eli Rigdon had four solo tackles and three assists. Ky’Yon Harris had three tackles and an interception.
