When the Union City Indians traveled to Hagerstown on Friday Sept. 6, for a Tri-Eastern Conference game, it was a matchup of two teams who were hungry for their first win after 0-2 starts.
Hagerstown built a 25-7 lead after three quarters, but the Indians fought back with two fourth-quarter scores to cut their deficit to 25-20, and were marching down field with less than 30 seconds to play with a chance for an improbable comeback win.
Tiger senior Roy Thornbury had no intention of allowing that to happen. Thornbury intercepted a Union City pass to kill the drive and ensure the Tiger win.
“It was an obvious passing situation,” Thornbury said. “I give all the credit to my defensive line for the play. They were bringing tremendous pressure on their quarterback trying to force him into a bad pass. I was watching his helmet. When he turned toward my side of the field I knew he was going to try to throw it over me and I was able to step in and pick it off.”
The interception was just one of many big plays Thornbury made in the win.
The first quarter was scoreless, but the Tigers kept improving their field position. In the second quarter they started putting points on the scoreboard. At the 8-minute mark Kaagen Kendall threw a 50-yard touchdown to Anthony Kelley, and Kelley added the PAT to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead. At the 4:35 mark Aiden Grover scampered 17 yards for a touchdown to make the score 13-0. UC quarterback Jaysen Conner tossed a 5-yard TD pass to D’Shaun Ware with 48 seconds remaining in the first half. Joseangel Perez-Contrareas added the PAT to make the score 13-7. The Tigers stunned the Indians with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kendall to Grover as time expired to take a 19-7 half time lead.
The Tigers tacked on a third-quarter touchdown on a 5-yard TD pass from Kendall to Zach Golliher to take a 25-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Indians scored twice in the final quarter on rushing touchdowns from Brayden Huggins and Trendon Spence before Thornbury’s late heroics ended their comeback effort.
Tiger head coach Scott Snodgrass was happy to see his team earn the win.
“No lead is safe in TEC football,” Snodgrass said. “You have to battle to the end. In the end we had a senior step up to make a huge play for us. I feel like we had several players step up tonight when we needed it. We are still making some mistakes, but we are working to improve each week. This was an important win that we can build on.”
Kendall completed 19 of 28 pass attempts for 209 yards and three touchdowns. Grover rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Isaac Schmitz gained 47 yards on two carries. Thornbury was the leading receiver for Hagerstown, catching five passes for 72 yards. Kelley had 51 yards receiving and a TD; Grover had 42 yards and a TD and Golliher had 20 yards and a TD. Cale Schmitz led the Tiger defense with 17 tackles. Isaac Schmitz had eight. Leyton Berger and Colton McMillan both recovered fumbles. Kelley and Thornbury both had interceptions. Will Combs blocked a PAT attempt.
The Tigers will stay home for their next game when they host Union County on Friday, Sept. 13.
Hagerstown (1-2, 1-2 TEC) 0 19 6 0 25
Union City (0-3, 0-2 TEC) 0 7 0 13 20
A version of this article appeared in the September 11 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.