York stiff-arms Union County for first win of 2017

Still looking for its first win, Union had its chances against York on Thursday, but the Yellow Jackets will have to wait at least one more week for a victory.

Union County (0-3) fell behind early, rallied in the second half, but in the end couldn’t hold off York in the fourth quarter in the Cougars’ 27-20 victory at Union County Stadium.

“We kind of took our foot off the gas,” York coach Bobby Carroll said. “In the second half Union County got after us running the ball hard. We’ve got to learn to put games away. Union has some good players and they don’t have anything to be ashamed of. They’re a good football team.”

Down 13-0 at halftime, Union County used an up-tempo run game in the second half. An 8-play 67-yard drive, all runs, ended with DeShaun Holmes’ 2-yard run to make it 13-6. York’s Ethan Mitchell found Zion Walker for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 20-6.

Quarterback Keasan Glover hurt his knee on the next series, but Will Horlacher led a scoring drive on the ground, with Keion Glover sprinting 20 yards for a score.

“We came out firing on all cylinders in the second half,” Adams said. “I thought the kids really amped it up a bit.”

Union County got a sack to help force a three and out just before the fourth quarter, but a penalty stalled the Jackets’ next drive. Mitchell later found J.Q. Quinn in the flat for a 28-yard gain, setting up Stephen Oglesby’s 2-yard TD run.

Michael Purdie caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Horlacher in the final minute but Union County couldn’t recover the onside kick and the Cougars (1-1) won their first game of the season.

York’s offensive line controlled the game most of the first quarter, scoring touchdowns on two of its first three series to take a 13-0 lead early. Down two scores early, Union County went no-huddle and found some rhythm but pivotal plays held the Jackets back.

York’s J.T. Sanders picked off a pass late in the first to stop Union County’s first good drive. Then on the Jackets’ first series of the second, Union County moved past midfield to York’s 38-yard line, but two incompletions deep ended the drive. Keasan Glover’s 26 quarterback scamper along the near sideline later moved the chains, but York’s defense stiffened outside the 20 to force another turnover on downs.

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 10:01 AM with the headline "York stiff-arms Union County for first win of 2017."