By By Marty Stamper / EMG sports assistant
Sept. 14, 2002
UNION Union and Lake have played some tight football games over the years. Friday night was no exception as the Yellowjackets took a 27-20 thrill-a-minute win over the Hornets in the Region 3-1A opener for both teams.
In a game of big plays, none was bigger than a Jacket touchdown four seconds before halftime.
Lake had just snapped a 14-14 tie on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Joseph Hunt to Willie Hickmon with only 25.2 seconds left in the first half and looked like it would carry a 20-14 lead into halftime.
Union got a 29-yard kickoff return by Derrick Harris plus a 15-yard penalty for a late hit to start at the Lake 44. Harris threw a 43-yard reverse pass to Jordan Robinson to the 1. Quincy Patrick scored on a quarterback sneak on the next play. Patrick then kicked the extra point for a 21-20 Union lead.
And a depressing play for Lake.
Lake scored first in the game on a 41-yard pass from Hunt to Danny Towner with 3:55 left in the first quarter. Bryan Williamson added the extra point.
Union bounced back with an 11-play, 86-yard drive capped by a 1-yard run by Anthony Johnson, who also had a 29-yard scamper on the drive. Patrick teamed with Harris for a 34-yard pass. A bad snap eliminated any chance of the extra point as Lake held a 7-6 advantage.
The Hornets went up 14-6 when Lake blocked Jacob Casey's punt and Justin Butler fell on the ball in the end zone with 8:22 left in the first half. Williamson added the PAT.
The Jackets answered with an eight-play, 81-yard scoring drive with Johnson finding the end zone on a 4-yard run. Johnson then added the tying two-point conversion to even the game at 14-14.
Lake momentarily reclaimed the lead with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that saw Hunt hit Hickmon for a 20-14 lead.
Union opened the second half with a four-play, 61-yard touchdown march with Patrick scoring on a 14-yard run. Union picked up a first down on all four plays of the drive and finished the game with 20.
Lake put together a 49-yard drive that stalled at the Union 15 when Hunt was tackled for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-6.
Patrick missed a 22-yard field goal try with 9:19 left in the game and Lake reached the Union 7 on a drive aided by three defensive pass interference penalties. On fourth-and-5 at the 7, Hunt was sacked by Johnson and Ray Harper for a loss of 10.
Union ran the clock down to 0.3 seconds where Harris picked off a pass to end the game.
Union finished with 424 total yards with 299 coming on 46 carries. Johnson gained 186 yards on 17 carries.
Harris had three catches for 82 yards.
Lake had 202 total yards with 92 coming on 31 rushes. Joseph Hunt was 9-of-22 passing for 110 yards.
Union travels to Thomastown next week, while Lake hosts defending Class 1A state champion Pelahatchie.