By Mike Hutchens, Union City Schools Communications Director
One game doesn’t make a season.
Nick Markle reminded his Union City troops of that old adage following the Tornadoes’ 40-6 season-opening loss to Ensworth Friday.
“Nobody won or lost anything of great significance tonight,” Markle said. “It’s like Coach (Wade) Maddox told our kids: ‘We can still go 13-1 and be playing in Chattanooga in December.’
“We know who we are and what we’re made of. We’re going to be alright.”
The Tigers – a heralded private school entry that plays in the largest Division II classification – predictably had a deeper roster than UC, including a reported half-dozen major college prospects.
That didn’t mean the Twisters didn’t have their moments.
Tayehari Jones dashed 79 yards with a punt return for a touchdown to get Union City on the board first less than three minutes into the contest.
And the Tornadoes threatened to score twice more, moving inside Ensworth’s 20 late in the first half and in the fourth quarter on strong runs by fullback Jacob Arnold, quarterback Keaten Brown, and a nice gainer outside by Adrian Crawford.
But the Nashville visitors capitalized on a pair of costly turnovers by the Purple and Gold deep in their own territory, converting both into TDs. Included among those giveaways was a scoop-and-score by Mason Curtis in the third quarter that put into motion a running clock and the mercy rule.
Still, Markle found reason for hope moving forward.
“What I really liked to see was when I tried to pull our guys in the final minutes, they didn’t want to come off the field,” the coach added. “We were a little outmanned in that Ensworth was able to platoon guys in and out because of their depth, but it was a great litmus test for us.
“Our guys are hurting right now because of the result, and they’re busted up a little. That’s what happens when you play the physical style of football that we do. You just can’t discount our effort, though.
“We normally have a 24-hour rule after each game to either celebrate or lick our wounds. I told them they had two hours with this one. We’re going to wash it off and move on to preparing for USJ next week.”
The Tigers scored in the final half-minute of the first and second quarters to take a 26-6 halftime lead after spotting UC its early touchdown.
Demarli Thompson ripped off a 57-yard score to give Ensworth the lead with two seconds left in the opening period, and Zaidyn Moore caught a six-yard TD pass from Isiah Batten just 18 seconds left before halftime to cap a 10-play, 82-yard drive.
Arnold finished with a team-high 63 yards on 14 physical carries. Brown totaled 41 yards rushing and also made his presence known defensively with five tackles – including a pair for lost yardage. Sophomore linebacker Deyton Buckley, who came on for injured Aiden Reid in the first half, led UC with a half-dozen stops.
“It’ll be really important for us to be proactive with our health moving forward,” Markle concluded. “There’s obviously a difference between pain and injury, and we’ll take care of guys next week by adjusting our practice schedule a little bit.
“You expect to be sore, but I think – except for Aiden (Reid) — we came out OK.”
Union City will play at University School of Jackson next week.
