Union Outlasts & Survives Jenks 9-3

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% Off Your Subscription By Entering Knight25 In The Coupon Code Area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Union outlasted Jenks in one of the lowest scoring games between these two teams in the history of this impressive rivalry. The Redhawks would beat Jenks 9-3 and survived two Jenks drives in the final four minutes that allowed them to bounce back from last week's overtime loss to Stillwater. Union took advantage of Jenks miscues with the snaps throughout the night and we'll call it what it is. They got a little help from the officials on Friday night. But another storyline was the fact that they held a Jenks offense that has plenty of firepower out of the end zone. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This game was almost scoreless at halftime but Union took advantage of good field position and kicked a short field goal to go up 3-0 at the break. After a [player_tooltip player_id='188014' first='Shaker' last='Reisig'] pass to [player_tooltip player_id='1451366' first='Stone' last='Turner'] set them up with another shot to score, they punched it in as Reisig found tight end [player_tooltip player_id='724375' first='Myles' last='Davis'] in the third quarter to go up 9-0 but Jenks would begin their rally in the third and fourth quarters. They kicked a short field goal to make it 9-3 and then had a drive late in the fourth quarter that will be one to remember on both sides, but not for good reasons. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jenks looked like they converted on fourth down and were going to have first and goal after [player_tooltip player_id='598834' first='Owen' last='Jones'] found [player_tooltip player_id='1096341' first='Sam' last='Stone'] on the Union sideline. Stone made the catch, was hit by a Union defender and as he was going out of bounds, he stretched the ball out towards the goal line. When Stone hit the ground out of bounds, the ball came loose and it was originally called a catch. After a short conference, it was overturned and ruled a turnover on downs. Several personal fouls were called on Jenks following that decision and it set Union up with great field position.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Redhawks couldn't capitalize and they would have to punt the ball away, giving the Trojans one more opportunity to win and to get some redemption. The Trojans would turn the ball over and Union escaped with the 9-3 win while Jenks dropped their second game in a row. Both teams have next week off before opening up district play in week four. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite the low-scoring game that went back and forth and featured plenty of errors, there were also some terrific individual performances. Below, we take a look at some of the top performers on both sides of the ball. And check out our <strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@PrepRedzoneOklahoma">YouTube channel</a></strong> for game highlights and postgame reaction!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>UNION TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1316039' first='Jackson' last='Franklin'] - Senior Defensive Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Union's secondary had an excellent night on Friday night and while they did most of their damage in run support, we saw this player step up with one of the more clutch plays to secure the win. Senior defensive back and Air Force commit [player_tooltip player_id='1316039' first='Jackson' last='Franklin'] came up with an interception on the final Jenks drive to make sure that Union would get out of Friday with the Backyard Bowl title. Franklin was also among the team's leaders in tackles on Friday night. And ironically, he's another player that moved over to Union after playing at Jenks. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='724375' first='Myles' last='Davis'] - Senior Tight End/Punter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior [player_tooltip player_id='724375' first='Myles' last='Davis'] was on the receiving end of the only touchdown on Friday night. In the third quarter, he hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass as he was all by himself in the end zone. But despite that, his biggest impact probably came in special teams. Points were an absolute premium on Friday night and the team that won the field position battle would be in a good spot. Davis is also Union's punter and there were several times where he gave Union outstanding field position and the defense would go to work from there. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='188014' first='Shaker' last='Reisig'] - Senior Quarterback</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Following Friday night's game, Union senior quarterback [player_tooltip player_id='188014' first='Shaker' last='Reisig'] had more emotion on his face than we've ever seen before. He told us that it was "personal" when it came to facing the rival Trojans. The story has been written plenty of times so it doesn't need to be rehashed here. But you could tell this one meant a little more. Reisig had an up and down night but when he needed to perform at a high level, he was able to answer the call. He was able to attack the middle of a very talented Jenks defense and had success early in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1451366' first='Stone' last='Turner'] - Junior Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Reisig's top target in the passing game would be junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='1451366' first='Stone' last='Turner'] and he had a memorable performance. He led the team in receiving with over 100 yards but the Davis touchdown was set up by a Turner catch and run that put the Redhawk offense into the red zone. They would punch it in from there for the game's only score. Turner has had a solid start to his junior season after moving over to Union from Bixby this offseason. And with the Redhawks missing some names at wide receiver, they've needed new guys to step up. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1451368' first='Tucker' last='Koch'] - Junior Linebacker</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Coming into this week's Backyard Bowl, we had our eyes on junior linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1451368' first='Tucker' last='Koch'] as a player to watch. Based on the first two games, Koch has been one of Union's top defenders so far this season. And on Friday night, he lived up to the hype and it started instantly. Koch brought so much energy to the field throughout the night and was consistently in the Jenks backfield. The Trojans have one of the best running backs in Oklahoma and Koch and the rest of the Union defense made him work for every yard that he got. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"medium"} --> <p class="has-medium-font-size"><strong>JENKS TOP PERFORMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='402378' first='KD' last='Jones'] - Junior Running Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Whenever Jenks running back [player_tooltip player_id='402378' first='KD' last='Jones'] steps on the field, he's arguably the best player on that field. On Friday night, you could make that same claim but he had to work for everything he got. He finished the night with 35 touches between carries and receptions and finished with nearly 200 yards of total offense. Union never let him break the big one like in last year's semifinal with less than a minute to play. But Jones kept coming and the Trojans kept feeding him the football. They came up short but the Jenks junior was so tough to contain. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='979658' first='Malakai' last='Dillard'] - Junior Wide Receiver</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When Jenks had success in the passing game, it was usually with junior wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='979658' first='Malakai' last='Dillard'] and him going over the middle and attacking the center of the Union secondary. Because the Trojans were so run-heavy, it brought Union's defensive backs closer to the line of scrimmage. That allowed Dillard to have success with routes over the middle and if he catches one in the open field, he's able to make a lot of things happen after the catch. Dillard has speed and really good hands and they were on display Friday. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='467408' first='Ryley' last='Kester'] - Junior Offensive Lineman</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Junior offensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='467408' first='Ryley' last='Kester'] has been high on our 2026 list for a long time. Really since he entered high school. And on Friday night, Kester was an absolute monster once again on the line of scrimmage. Jenks was determined to run the football and attack the Union defense up front. Kester was a big part of that and the standout junior had a good showing. We've written this about Kester plenty of times but it showed up again on Friday. He is one of the more mean guys in Oklahoma today and he brought that energy for 48 minutes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1096341' first='Sam' last='Stone'] - Senior Wide Receiver/Defensive Back</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior two-way star [player_tooltip player_id='1096341' first='Sam' last='Stone'] has been one of the top players for the Trojans for well over a year now. On Friday night, he was one of the top players on the field and that goes for both sides of the ball. On defense, Stone made plays but offensively, he came up with some big catches. Even the catch near the goal line that was ruled to not be a catch was one of the more clutch moments on Friday night. When Jenks needed a big play, Stone delivered. We're looking forward to seeing what he's able to do on both sides for the rest of the season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->