Tornadoes moving on in playoffs; OC, SF done
STATE PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1 ROUNDUP
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Union City is the only high school football team from Obion County advancing in the playoffs.
The Golden Tornadoes whipped visiting Memphis Westwood 62-6 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 1A bracket.
Both Obion Central and South Fulton were on the other end of lopsided outcomes, each traveling to Memphis with the Rebels dropping a 49-6 decision to Melrose at Orange Mound in Class 4A and the Red Devils falling 52-14 to MASE in 1A at Crump Stadium.
UC will now travel to Memphis to play MASE in the second round.
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Union City 62, Westwood 6
Jacob Arnold ran for 135 yards and three touchdowns, and Keaten Brown added 86 yards and three TDs to lead the Golden Tornadoes to easy victory at War Memorial Stadium/Randy Barnes Field.
The Twisters put up 367 total yards, 318 coming on the ground, and had 17 first downs.
Arnold and Brown each had two touchdowns in the first quarter, Arnold with a 41-yard run to highlight the fast start, as UC led 28-0 at the break. It was 48-0 at the half as Arnold had another TD run sandwiched between scoring carries by Tayehari Jones.
Marcos Landeros hit eight point-after kicks.
Westwood was held to minus-10 yards rushing but did manage to throw for 191 yards, although the Longhorns completed only 9-of-22 and had three passes intercepted. Brown, Arnold and Adrian Crawford all had picks for UC.
Aiden Reid led the Tornado defense with seven tackles.
UC improves to 8-3, while Westwood ends its season with a 4-7 record.
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Melrose 49, Obion Central 6
Seeking revenge for last year’s playoff loss to the Rebels, Melrose was well-prepared for the rematch.
The Golden Wildcats piled up 424 yards of offense, including 238 on 15-of-19 passing, while limiting Central to just 121 yards and forcing three turnovers.
Ryan Brown scored on runs of 40 and 20 yards in the first quarter and added a 72-yard run and a 75-yard kickoff return for touchdowns in the fourth period.
In between, Cody Balkin scored on a short run, William Carver scored on a 22-yard pass from Sadat Muhammad and short run, and Travion Baker stripped the football and took it 32 yards the other way for a score.
OC’s only score came on a 52-yard run by Kweli Purifoy in the fourth quarter, that TD run coming just two plays after he had a 48-yard scoring run called back on a penalty.
Brown ran for 158 yards, while Carver had 114 yards on six catches.
Central finishes its season at 6-5, while Melrose improves to 8-3 and will host Dyer County in the second round.
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MASE 52, South Fulton 14
South Fulton moved the ball through the air, Brady McFarland completing 18-of-37 passes for 187 yards, but the Phoenix also picked off three Devil throws.
MASE (Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering) put up six touchdowns in the first half and led 38-14 at the half.
Quarterback EJ Gilliam had a big day for the Phoenix, completing 8-of-12 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns and also running for 54 yards and two more scores.
McFarland and Dallas Whitehead each scored for the Red Devils, who close the season with a 6-5 record.