Union football coach Jordan Wren said Friday night’s playoff game with Tylertown was a matter of speed.
And the Tylertown Chiefs simply had more than the Yellowjackets.
Tylertown used that speed to take a 20-8 win over Union and end the Yellowjackets season in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Union ends the season with a 5-7 record while Tylertown improves to 12-0 on the season and will play Raleigh this week in the third round.
Wren said he had no problems with how his team played on Friday night against the unbeaten Chiefs.
“I thought we played about as well as we could play,” Wren said. “We knew their team speed would be unreal and hard to simulate in practice. Their team speed was so good and higher quality than the average team that we have played. I thought we played hard and had a game plan of making it a physical game. We had one touchdown called back and had another one dropped in the end zone. You can’t be mad about the effort.”
Tylertown got the ball to begin the game as the Yellowjackets kicked off. The Chiefs fielded the ball at the 20, tossed it back to Jordan Anthony, who raced 80 yards for a touchdown with 11:43 left in the first quarter. Amerion Jefferson ran in the two-point conversion and Tylertown led 8-0
“We had talked about kicking it away from Anthony,” Wren said. “We knew he was really good and really fast. We said we weren’t going to kick it to the SEC guy. We kicked it away from him and they tossed it back to him and he took it to the house. He’s ran a 10.2 in the 100 and is the fastest 18-year old in the country.”
Union was forced to punt on its first possession and Tylertown turned the ball over on downs on its second drive. Union then went 44 yards in four plays as Clay finished off the drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Boler with 4:50 left in the first quarter. Clay ran in the two-point conversion and Union tied the game at 8-8.
Tylertown answered back with a five-play, 65-yard drive as Jefferson hit Jeremiah Dillion on a 41-yard touchdown pass. The try for two failed and the Chiefs led 14-8 with 2:23 left in the first quarter.
Tylertown finished out the first half with a long touchdown drive, going 63 yards in 10 plays as Jefferson hit Kendrick Lampton on an 8-yard touchdown pass. The try for two failed and Union trailed 20-8 with 19 seconds left in the half.
The second half was a defensive battle with both offenses kept out of the end zone.
“Their coach told me after the game that this was the most physical game they have played all year,” Wren said. “When another coach comes and tells you that, that’s something you are proud of to know that your team is physical. I was really proud of our defense, they are playing so good right now and we are getting nine of those guys back next year.”
Union had 155 yards of offense with 127 rushing and 28 passing. Clay was 3-of-9 passing for 28 yards and rushed for 31 yards on 13 carries. Carlos Hickmon had 71 yards rushing on 14 carries while Ky’Yon Harris had 25 yards on seven carries. Xavier Boler had two catches for 22 yards and one TD.
“They had seven kids who could run with Kenyon and we just don’t see that a lot,” Wren said. “When he broke one, he would get five or six yards instead of 30 or 40 that he might get against someone else. The only team that I have seen that fast or is even comparable is Scott Central. Speed is uncoachable and makes you really good.”
On defense, Hickmon led the Yellowjackets with seven solo tackles, including two sacks. Tristan Wallace had 5.5 tackles while Clay and Eli Rigdon each had four tackles. Cameron Pascal and Cameron Hickman each had 3.5 tackles apiece while Cameron Jackson and Tank Haralson each had two tackles each.
