Yellowjackets cruise to first round victory over Walnut
In a 16-6 loss to Philadelphia to end the regular season, Union coach Jordan Wren said his offensive line didn’t play well enough.
It seems like the Union offensive line got the message as the Yellowjackets ran for 384 yards and cruised to a 55-28 win over homestanding Walnut in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs on Friday.
Union improves to 4-7 on the season and will travel to Leflore County on Friday in second-round action.
Wren said he was proud of how his team responded to that loss.
“I think our offensive line was embarrassed with how they played against Philadelphia and felt like the district championship was on their shoulder,” Wren said. “I think they had a look-in-the-mirror moment and said their execution wasn’t getting it done. They had a solid week of practice and didn’t have execution issues this week. If you practice well, you usually play well. I think it was one of the best weeks of practice we have had all year and it showed on the field.”
Walnut got the ball to start the game and went three and out. Union then hit a big play as Myilan Moore scored on a 74-yard run. Aidan Davis scored the two-point conversion and Union led 8-0.
Union got rolling at the end of the first quarter when Kobe Hutchins scored on a 25-yard run. Davis also scored the try for two and Union led 16-0.
Union got the ball back when they recovered the ensuing kick. The Yellowjackets then went 42 yards in four plays as Moore scored on a 38-yard run. Davis kicked the PAT and Union led 23-0.
The Yellowjackets continued to pour it on as Harris scored four times in the second quarter on runs of 29, 44, and 4 yards as Union led 41-0.
Walnut finally scored to cut the score to 41-8 before Harris broke another long run, scoring on a 53-yard run with 3:57 left in the half. Vaiden Bouder ran in the two-point conversion and Union led 49-8.
After a 61-yard touchdown pass by Walnut, Union scored on the last play of the half as Moore scored on a 2-yard quarterback sneak to take a 55-14 lead at the half.
Walnut scored twice in the second half for the final margin of 55-28.
“I really think you are seeing a young team grow up,” Wren said. “It’s taken us this long, mainly because of injuries. You would hope that happens about game six or seven. But we haven’t had everybody healthy all season long. It’s just taken us a few extra weeks to get there. But I think we have seen this team really mature a lot in the last week or two. And the scary thing is, we still are playing as well as we are capable of playing.”
The Yellowjackets had 384 yards rushing and 20 passing for 404 yards of total offense. Harris had a big night with 211 yards rushing on 12 carries with four TDs while Moore had 116 yards and three TDs on just four carries.
On defense, Aidan Davis had six tackles and two tackles for loss while Jordan Smith had six tackles. William Breedlove had five tackles and two tackles for loss. Vaiden Bouder had five tackles and a forced fumble while Zie Buckley also had five tackles. Omarri Holliday and John Leach also had four tackles and a tackle for loss while Jon Perry, Moonie Harris and Kobe Hutchins each had three tackles.
The Yellowjackets will be on the road again as they travel to Leflore County.
The Tigers are 7-4 on the season with wins over Amanda Elzy (28-22), South Delta (18-14), Leland (30-14), Riverside (37-0), Port Gibson (30-14), O’Bannon (26-6) and a playoff win last week against Water Valley (36-6). They have losses to Simmons (44-6), Greenwood (24-16), Northside (30-6) and Charleston (42-10).