Yellowjackets still looking for first win of the season
Union football coach Jordan Wren knew exactly what he was getting against Enterprise on Friday night.
And the weather didn’t make that any better as Enterprise used a rugged rushing attack to take a hard-fought 23-22 win in a game played at East Central Community College.
Union falls to 0-2 on the season and will travel to Leake Academy on Friday night.
Wren said Enterprise was exactly who he thought they were.
“It was exactly what we thought it was going to be,” Wren said. “It was two well-coached teams that played very physical. At the end of the night, we made some really bad mistakes that hurt us and killed some drives. We didn’t play bad and Myilan threw it well in the rain. The bottom line is the offensive line has to play better. Our secondary has to get their eyes out of the backfield. But I thought the defense played well except for two or three plays but that was all that they needed.”
Union received the opening kick but fumbled in a steady rain. Enterprise missed the field goal as the Union defense held.
After punting on its first possession, Union fumbled on its second drive to give Enterprise the ball at the 24. Eight plays later, Enterprise scored on a 1-yard run and converted the two-point conversion to lead 8-0 late in the first quarter.
After swapping punts, Union finally got on the board when Myilan Moore hit Mason Tucker on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The try for two was good and Union tied the game at 8-8 with 7:45 left in the first half.
Enterprise then hit a big play in the passing game with a 55-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was good and Enterprise led 15-8, a score that held until halftime.
Union got the first score of the second half after forcing an Enterprise punt to open the half. Union then scored on a 3-yard touchdown run by Moore. The PAT failed and Union cut the lead to 15-14.
After forcing an Enterprise pun, Union gave the ball right back on a fumble when Moore was sacked. The Bulldogs scored on the next play on a 34-yard run. The try for two was good and Enterprise led 23-14.
Union answered with a 76-yard drive that went nine plays and scored on a 2-yard run by Moore with 8:23 left in the game. The try for two was good and Enterprise held a 23-22 lead with 8:23 left in the game.
Enterprise chewed up a lot of clock as they put together a 12-play drive and got to the Union 3.
Union got past midfield but ended up turning the ball over on downs when they faced a fourth and 42 to end the game.
Union had 275 yards passing as Miylan Moore was 25-of-37 passing with one TD. He also rushed for 41 yards on 10 carries with 10 TDs. Tucker had eight catches for 150 yards and one TD while Zie Buckley had seven catches for 58 yards. Moonie Harris had six catches for 47 yards. Semaj Burnside also rushed for 23 yards on four carries.
On defense, Vaidin Bouder led the Yellowjackets with 8.5 tackles while Quinn Harris had 7.5 tackles. Ben Leach had 6.5 tackles with three tackles for loss and two sacks. Will Breedlove and Omarri Holliday each had four tackles while Aiden Davis had 3.5 tackles.
“I thought we played a lot more disciplined,” Wren said. “Just about every time they scored, they got a short field. They never really put together a long drive. I thought we played lot better and that was across the board. But we have to get better and get ready or week six. When you are young, you make young mistakes. But you have to learn from them and get over it and go to the next play.”
The Yellowjackets will try to pick up their first win on the road this week with a short trip to Madden.
The Rebels are 2-1 on the season.
Union has won the last two matchups between the two teams, winning 49-21 last year.