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Convincing UC moves up to 9th

Convincing UC moves up to 9th
Union City’s convincing 42-8 victory over Greenfield Friday night was worth one place in the Associated Press prep rankings.
The Golden Tornadoes’ seventh consecutive win pushed them to No. 9 in this week’s state poll. UC received 44 total points 19 more than last week when the locals made their first appearance in the AP listing since 2001 at No. 10 in Class A.
Union City remains a notch below Region 7-1A rival McKenzie — a team the Twisters beat 21-16 back in Week 4 — as the Rebels remained eighth in this week’s state-wide balloting of sports writers and broadcasters with 50 points.
Twenty media organizations were represented in this week’s voting.
Both UC and McKenzie are 7-1, though the Tornadoes are the only one of the two to have clinched a state playoff berth.
The top seven teams in the Class A listing are all unbeaten.
South Pittsburg, which received 15 first-place votes, remained No. 1, while Trousdale County, which got four first-place nods, is still second. Jo Byrns got the other first-place vote.
Rural West Tennessee was again well-represented in the other rankings, too, and at least two teams from this side of the Tennessee River were included in the 2A, 3A and 4A polls.
Milan rated No. 2 again in double-A, behind four-time reigning state champion Alcoa. The Bulldogs remained unbeaten with a 35-0 victory over Trenton last week.
Camden (7-1) — whose only loss came vs. Milan — moved up a spot to fourth after beating 4A Jackson North Side 35-6, while USJ’s last-second 22-21 victory over crosstown rival Jackson Christian School boosted the 7-1 Bruins to fifth from sixth.
Stewart County (8-1), which faces Camden in a showdown for the Region 7-2A championship this week, remained at No. 10.
In Class 3A, once-beaten Jackson South Side (7-1) is still fifth, while Dyersburg, following its thrilling 42-41 triple-overtime triumph over Crockett County, improved a spot to seventh from eighth. Ironically, Haywood, which has victories over both D’burg and CC, is still on the fringe of the Top 10 at No. 11.
Unbeaten Henry County is still second behind perennial 4A kingpin Maryville. The Patriots did get three first-place votes this week, but still trailed the Rebels by a significant margin. Maryville is seeking its fifth straight state title and has won 68 straight games.
Brighton, whose only setback came in a 54-0 rout against Henry County two weeks ago, rose two places to No. 7 from ninth. The Cardinals (7-1) bounced back from that loss by beating Jackson Central-Merry 28-6 this past Friday.
Sports editor Mike Hutchens can be contacted by e-mail at mhutch@ucmessenger.com.