By Jamie Wachter / Sports Editor
The Meridian Star
UNION —
Three plays prior to taking the lead for the only time Friday night, Clarkdale essentially lost the game.
With the Bulldogs driving for the go-ahead score midway through the second quarter, quarterback Micah Redmond went down with what is feared to be a broken left ankle or leg and the senior leader took Clarkdale's hopes with him. Following the injury, Union rolled to a 42-15 win.
"When Micah goes down, that's the ballgame," Clarkdale coach Jud Gartman said. "To start with, there's not much depth and we were just scrambling then. We'll have to regroup now.
"We were in the game then and he's the leader on both sides of the ball. With no depth, we had to start scrambling and it made things a lot easier for them."
Added Union coach Brad Breland: "That boy is a good player and he's their leader. That was a big blow to them just like it would be a big blow to anybody to lose their quarterback. You always hate to see that happen and that was a big blow to them and their whole offense, because he runs their whole offense good."
With Redmond at the controls of the 1-2 Bulldogs' spread attack, Clarkdale was churning out yards and playing step for step with the 2-1 Yellowjackets. The Bulldogs had garnered 119 yards with Redmond in the shotgun, the senior rushing for 16 yards on two carries, including the 10-yard pickup for a first down when he got injured.
Right after his injury, the Bulldogs lost three yards on two carries before Gabe Shelby lofted a pass to Charles Tims in the end zone with Tims outjumping Jacob Rash to haul it in. Shelby then completed a two-point pass and Clarkdale led 15-14.
It was short-lived. Union answered right back, taking seven plays to regain the lead for good when Chrisean Tyson rambled in from 14 yards out. Tyson then added a two-point run and the 'Jackets were back in control.
And if Union wasn't then, it didn't take long for the Yellowjackets to firmly grab full control. Clarkdale muffed the ensuing kickoff with Union recovering at the 32. The Jackets then methodically marched, scoring on another Tyson run with 4 seconds remaining in the half to grab a 28-15 advantage.
"We had had a hard time of stopping them, but that was big to get that two-touchdown lead right there," Breland said.
The second half was more of the same as the Bulldogs managed just 38 yards offensively. Corey Skinner provided the bulk of that as he churned out a team-high 75 yards on nine carries, including a 51-yard touchdown run to tie the game midway through the first quarter on Clarkdale's second play from scrimmage.
Union, on the other hand, continued to roll. Having just two plays in the third quarter, the Yellowjackets scored on a 59-yard dash from Forzetra Ealy, who had a game-high 135 yards, including two scores.
The ''Jackets' special teams then got in the act again with Jamie Elliott blocking a Clarkdale punt with little more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter and Tyson scooped it up at the 33 and rumbled the rest of the way for the final score.
"That was a big play out of the special teams," Breland said. "The special teams played big all enough. These kids take pride in that."
Union, which rushed for 330 yards, scored on the game's first drive when quarterback Chance Lowery sneaked in from 1 yard out. After Clarkdale answered back, the Jackets regained the lead with just less than nine minutes left in the half on a 35-yard run from Ealy.
"We made them look real strong," Gartman said.
Added Breland: "We made a few changes and our offensive line is coming along, they're getting better each week. Hopefully we can keep it going."
