During its first four games of the season, the Union Yellowjackets have leaned on offense to outscore opponents.
On Friday night, the Union defense finally played the way Union coach Brad Breland expected them to.
The Yellowjackets scored 28 unanswered points and beat rival Newton County 42-15 on Friday night.
Union improves to 5-0 on the season and will put that record on the line this week as they travel to East Webster, who is also 5-0 on the season.
After being underwhelming in their first four games, the Yellowjackets flexed their muscles on Friday night against the Class 4A Cougars.
“I was very pleased,” Breland said. “I thought we played really well. I thought we played really well on offense and were able to move the football, even after Colby (Ferguson) got hurt. But I was really proud of our defense because they haven’t been playing up to expectations. County had 16 yards of offense at the half and less than 100 yards total. So I was pleased with that and they way they performed as a whole.”
Union got on the board first when Kenyon Clay scored on a 6-yard touchdown run with 4:07 left in the first. Henry Thornton booted the PAT and Union led 7-0.
Newton County responded with a good scoring drive as Carlois Walker scored on a 4-yard run with 11:41 left in the first half. Lee Hill booted the PAT to tie the game at 7-7.
From there it was all Union.
Union scored just two minutes later as Clay called his own number and scored on a 17-yard run with 9:27 left in the first half. Thornton booted the PAT and Union led 14-7.
Clay added another first-half score as he scored on an 8-yard run with 1:32 left in the half. Thornton’s PAT was good, and County led 21-7 at the half.
“Colby got hurt on the second play that we ran on offense,” Breland said. “He was kind of immobile after that and wasn’t able to throw. We went with Kenyon most of the way, and I thought he played really well. He did exactly what we expected him to do. He’s a smart kid and just needed some reps back there.”
In the third, the Yellowjackets added two more scores as Ferguson scored on a 10-yard run with 8:10 left in the third. Thornton booted the PAT and Union led 28-7.
Union caught a break on its next score when Clay completed a 14-yard pass to Marcus Jones, who fumbled at the 1 where Jaheim Gill recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown. Thornton kicked the PAT and Union led 35-7.
Newton County got some points out of its special teams when Ethan Plaisance’s punt was blocked out of the end zone with 7:21 left in the game to make the score 35-9.
“They played really well, and we didn’t,” Newton County coach Bobby Bass said. “I thought they did a good job up front on both sides of the football. They had a good game plan of attacking us. They played with a lot of effort and we have to do a better job of matching that intensity and effort. We didn’t do a good job of matching that effort. But give them credit, they are pretty good.”
Union’s last score came from the defense when Devyon May fumbled and Trevor Patchin recovered it and raced 40 yards for a touchdown. Thornton’s PAT made the score 42-9 with 1:45 left in the game.
County added a late score as Donovon McCoy scored on a 12-yard run with nine seconds left in the game. Lee Hill’s PAT failed for the final margin.
Union had 412 yards of total offense with 330 yards rushing and 82 passing. Jaylon Buckley led the rushing attack with 137 yards on 17 carries while Clay had 132 yards on 13 carries. Ferguson had 36 yards on seven carries. Clay was 7-of-9 passing for 82 yards while Buckley caught three passes for 31 yards.
Robert Craft led the Union defense with 5.5 tackles, including three tackles for loss while Peyton Posey had five tackles and two for a loss.
Newton County had 32 yards passing and 52 yards rushing in the game. Donavon McCoy led the Cougars with 29 yards on seven carries while Devyon May had 27 yards on six carries.
Miguel Evans led the Newton County defense with five solo tackles and eight assists. R. K. Canid had one solo and seven assists while Collin Crowder had five solos and three assists.
