For the third straight week, the Union Yellowjackets fell behind.
For the third straight week, the Union Yellowjackets came back to win a football game.
After trailing 17-0, Union scored 34 unanswered points to beat Madison St. Joseph 34-17 for a homecoming victory.
Union is now 4-2 on the season and will travel to Lake to take on the Hornets in the Division 4-2A opener for both teams.
“I was really proud of them,” Union coach Brad Breland said. “I hate that we didn’t start any better than we did. But to come back from a 17-point deficit was huge for our kids. We came back from 14 points down last week. I think they are kind of learning how to win and keep on fighting, even if they get down. I am proud of that.”
St. Joseph got the ball to open the game and went eight plays as they settled for a 36-yard field goal to go up 3-0 with 8:05 left in first.
The Bruins added a pair of touchdowns in the first as they scored on a 33-yard pass with 5:00 left and on a 2-yard run with 58 seconds left to go up 17-0.
That’s when the Yellowjackets started to fight back as Jamarian Harmon intercepted a pass on St. Joseph’s next possession.
Harmon then scored Union’s first points when quarterback Cody Ferguson scrambled and hit Harmon on a 77-yard touchdown pass with 9:15 left in the second. The PAT was blocked and St. Joseph led 17-6.
After a St. Joseph punt, Union got right back to work as they drove 88 yards in six plays, thanks to a big 49-yard run by Jaylon Buckley. He finished off the drive with a 10-yard run with 1:34 left in the first. The try for two failed and Union trailed 17-12.
“Jaylon is a really talented kid,” Breland said. “He’s big and strong and can catch the football out of the backfield. He has a lot of talent and has always been known as a good baseball player. He could be really good at football and I think he’s liking that as well.”
It wasn’t until late in the third that the Yellowjackets took the lead when Nate Killen got an interception and returned it to the St. Joseph 1. Ferguson finished off the drive with a 1-yard run with 3:36 left in the third. Ferguson ran in the two-point conversion and Union led 20-17.
After swapping punts, Union got an interception from Jaheim Gill to stall a St. Joseph drive.
After a Union punt, St. Joseph was driving deep in Union territory when Kenyon Clay scooped up a Bruin fumble and raced 85 yards for a touchdown. Henry Thornton’s PAT was good and Union led 27-17 with 4:47 left in the game.
“I thought our defense played much better in the second half,” Breland said. “We created some turnovers and are getting better every week. We have to be able to be able to throw the ball a little bit better. These young guys are getting some confidence. I have said the main part of winning is knowing what it takes to win and have to win games like that. The next step is to compete well and win some of these region games.”
Another Union interception by Ferguson gave Union the ball again. The Yellowjackets put the game away with a 10-play, 50-yard drive as Buckley scored on a 5-yard run with 1:01 left in the game.
Union had 387 yards of total offense with 310 rushing and 77 passing. St. Joseph had 235 total yards with 151 passing and 84 rushing.
Buckley led the Yellowjackets with 160 yards on 17 carries while Ferguson had 145 yards on 22 carries.
Clay had seven tackles and the fumble recovery to lead the Union defense. Peyton Posey had 5.5 tackles while Carlos Hickman had five tackles.
