Unlucky Fourth Quarter Spells Doom for Football

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. – Lady luck was not on Union College football's side on Saturday as it dropped a hard-fought, 31-24 battle to visiting Warner University (Fla.).

The loss drops the Bulldogs to 1-2 on the year, while the Royals improve to 2-2.

THIRD-QUARTER COMEBACK

Union got off to a rough start and found itself down 17-10 at the half. At one point, the Bulldogs trailed 17-3, but an Isaiah Wright 20-yard touchdown run pulled them within seven at the break.

In the third, everything was seemingly going Union's way. Terron Cox picked off a pass and returned it to the Warner 14. Wright took over from there, scoring on the next play to even the score at 17-all with 6:33 to go in the quarter.

The Bulldog defense then forced the Royals to go three-and-out on their next possession as Union took over on its own 35. Union used the next five plays to move the ball to the Warner 35 when Wright powered his way through two would-be tackles en route to the end zone, putting Union ahead for the first time in the game at 24-17 with 1:23 left in the third.

HARD-LUCK FOURTH

Warner quickly answered, driving 67 yards in eight plays to tie the game at 24-all. Kyle Metiam punched the ball in from the 3 with 12:49 to play.

Union thought it had retaken the line when Walker Russell hit Zach Young for a 65-yard scoring play. However, the Bulldogs were called for offensive passing interference, moving the ball back to their own 20. The Bulldogs were forced to punt, giving the Royals the ball on their own 35.

On the very next play, Union appeared to have intercepted its fifth pass of the day, but the ball went through the defender's hands and into the arms of Trevon Jackson, who raced 65 yards for a touchdown to put Warner up 31-24 with 6:24 remaining.

The Bulldogs tried to fight back but turned the ball over at midfield with 1:33 to go, and the Royals took a knee twice to seal the win.

WRIGHT REEKING HAVOC

Wright continues to rack up the yardage as he rushed for 172 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. This marks the 23^rd time a Bulldog has rushed for more than 150 yards in a game, and Wright's 172 ties him with Scott Russell for 16^th-best.

This is the second time this season Wright has rushed for over 150 yards and joins Russell, Armond Smith, and Terrence Pollock as the only Bulldogs to have multiple 150-plus rushing games. Russell and Smith each accomplished the feat twice, while Pollock did it six times including three times during the 2008 season.

On the season, Wright has covered 567 yards and scored seven touchdowns on 79 carries. He is averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 189.0 rushing yards per game.

He also caught a pass for 20 yards, giving him 192 yards of total offense.

NO PASSING ZONE

The Union secondary did everything it could to give the team a fighting chance as the Bulldogs intercepted four passes on the day. Josh Smith, Terran Cox, Riley Herndon, and Paul Maxwell each picked off a pass, and two of the interceptions led to touchdowns.

For Herndon, it was his second interception of the season while the rest collected their first of 2021.

BULLDOG NOTES

• Warner outgained Union 319-297 in total offense. The Royals passed for 275 yards and were held to 44 yards rushing.
• The Bulldogs ran for 210 yards, marking the third game in a row with over 200 yards rushing. The last time that happened came during the 2010 season when Union rushed for 509 against Bethel University (Tenn.) on Oct. 9, 2010, 316 against Lindsey Wilson College (Ky.) on Oct. 16, 2010, and 241 against Belhaven University (Miss.) on Oct. 23, 2010.
• Union has rushed for 765 through the first three games this season.
• Russell went 8-for-16 for 87 yards.
• This is the first time since Sept. 19, 2009, that the Bulldogs intercepted four passes in a game. Union defeated Faulkner (Ala.) 44-6 that day.
• The Bulldogs have collected seven interceptions on the year. Union picked off 11 passes last season.
• Wright's seven rushing touchdowns this season ties him for ninth-most in program history.
• Herndon led Union with seven total tackles. Zion McCray followed with five, while Jay Brown, Tramonte Garnder, and Jase Polley each helped with four.

NEXT FOR THE BULLDOGS

Union opens Mid-South Conference Appalachian Division play on Saturday when Kentucky Christian University comes to Williamson Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.