Eagles take Crest by storm on sunny Saturday

Uniontown's Gavin Fry (42) and Tommy Joles (30) tackle Crest running back Hunter Frazell during the first quarter of action at Uniontown on Saturday. The Eagles held the Lancers to 73 total yards in a 52-0 victory. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

Uniontown made the decision to postpone Friday night's Three Rivers League eight-man football contest against Crest so that players and fans alike could avoid having to deal with the thunderstorms that eventually passed through the area.

Crest couldn't avoid the Uniontown's thundering Eagles Saturday afternoon when the teams played the game under sunny skies. The Eagles stormed to their third victory of the season in as many games, 52--0, in a game called at halftime under eight-man football's mercy rule.

The Eagles (2-0 TRL, 3-0 overall) seemed not one bit bothered by the 20-hour delay, scoring the first five times the offensive unit touched the ball.

Uniontown running back John Reed (44) gets by Crest's Evan Godderz on his way to the second of his three long touchdown runs, this one from 33 yards out, in the first quarter. Reed had only those three carries but gained 115 yards. (Scott Nuzum/Tribune)

"After school (Friday), we had a quick little film and walk-through, and I said it was going to be a sign of our maturity if we could handle an unfamiliar situation," Uniontown head coach Chad Stroud said. "I was pleased with the way the kids handled it."

Uniontown's first five possessions were one play each. Those five plays totaled 228 yards in offense and all together took a total of just 54 seconds.

Josh Wisely took the opening kickoff at his own 12-yard line then handed to John Reed at the 15. He made it to his own 38 then scored from there on the very first play. Wisely ran in for the 2-point conversion with just 28 seconds of game time elapsed.

The Eagle defense held Crest (1-2, 1-2) to 2 yards before forcing a punt. They took over at their own 12 from where quarterback Gavin Miller kept the ball up the middle and scored with 9:59 remaining. He also ran in the 2-point conversion.

After 11 yards in losses, Crest punted again. Tommy Joles let it bounce before picking it up at his own 5. He returned it 42 yards to set up Reed's second touchdown run from 33 yards out with 8:20 remaining. Miller threw to Tyler Johns for the 2-point conversion and a 24-0 lead.

Cale Coyan picked off a pass and returned it 8 yards, setting up a 54-yard touchdown pass from Miller to Johns on the next play. The Eagles' only pass play of the afternoon made it 30-0 with 6:37 on the clock. The 2-point conversion was no good.

Joles intercepted a Crest pass, setting the Eagles up at midfield -- the 40-yard line for those unfamiliar with eight-man ball. Reed sprinted for another touchdown and Joles ran in the 2-pointer to make it 38-0 with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

Joles second interception of the afternoon set up Uniontown's first extended drive of the afternoon. Wisely scored on the third play, a 15-yard run with 2:24 on the clock. Backup quarterback Gavin O'Brien scored the 2-point conversion, which made it 46-0.

Reed intercepted a pass -- the fourth and last one for Uniontown --late in the first quarter to set up the only score of the second and the last of the game. O'Brien's keeper around the left side scored from 34 yards. The conversion was unsuccessful.

Against the reserve defense, Crest managed to hold on to the ball for 10 plays and drove to Uniontown's 19-yard line. But the Eagles forced incomplete passes on third and fourth downs. When they took over, the reserves on offense drove to the Crest 8-yard line before taking a knee to run out the clock.

Uniontown gained 343 yards of total offense, averaging 18 yards per play. Reed rushed 3 times for 115 yards. Miller gained 59 yards on his only carry. Wisely had 57 yards on 3 rushes.

Crest managed just 73 total yards, 11 of those on the ground.

"We're just blessed to have a really talented group of kids right now," Stroud said. "We have nine seniors and most of them have been starting since they were sophomores."

Only one of Uniontown's three games has lasted past halftime, the Week Two win at Madison.

The Eagles will play at Chetopa Friday night. The Hornets (1-2, 1-2) are the two-time defending champions of the TRL's eight-man division but lost the majority of players and the head coach who led them to those titles.

"We've traded film but I haven't watched it yet because we wanted to be focused on Crest and not looking ahead," Stroud said. "But that's going to be a huge game for us because our seniors have never beaten Crest. We're going to have to be ready to play and, hopefully, take another step forward next week."

CREST................ 0 0 x x -- 0

UNIONTOWN............. 46 6 x x -- 52

U -- Reed 42 run (Wisely run), 11:32 [1, 42, :20]

U -- G.Miller 59 run (G.Miller run), 9:59 [1, 59, :10]

U -- Reed 33 run (Johns pass from G.Miller), 8:20 [1, 33, :08]

U -- Johns 54 pass from G.Miller (pass failed), 6:37 [1, 54, :09]

U -- Reed 40 run (Joles run), 5:33 [1, 40, :07]

U -- Wisely 15 run (O'Brien run), 2:24 [3, 17, 1:21]

U -- O'Brien 34 run (run failed), 11:16 [3, 35, 1:21]

RUSHING: Crest -- Frazell 6-7, Brallier 7-5, Godderz 3-3, Sipe 1-minus 4. Uniontown -- Reed 3-114, G.Miller 1-59, Wisely 3-57, O'Brien 2-32, Fry 4-20, H.Miller 3-5, Robinson 1-2, team 1-minus 1.

PASSING: Crest -- Godderz 5-11-3-62, Frazell 0-1-1-0. Uniontown -- G.Miller 1-1-0-54.

RECEIVING: Crest -- Frazell 3-28, Ramsey 2-34. Uniontown -- Johns 1-54.

MISSED FIELD GOALS: None.