Union Knights Football Team

Knight POW's announced for AP game:
SPEC TEAMs - (LS/SS, Brian Dunkelberger), P.A.T. unit
DEFENSE - (DL, Tanner Heckt), (LB, Jace Hadachek), (DB, Trev Hadachek)
OFFENSE - (OL, Chase Hansen), (WR, Brady Petersen), (RB, Andrew Osuna)
Def Scout of Week - service offense, entire team
Off Scout of Week - Cole Reiter

By Cheyne Reiter

The Union Knights' tackling was to blame in a 45-42 loss to CP-U in week one. That certainly wasn't the case in week two.

Behind a bend-but-don't-break defense and prolific offense, 2A's sixth-ranked Knights rolled over traditional 1A powerhouse and No. 3 A-P, 41-14, at Ed Thomas Field.

The Knights jumped out to a 34-7 halftime lead due to their high-powered offense. Jay Scheel ignited the Knights offense with an early 28-yard touchdown scramble and that's the closest A-P got all night. He added a 15-yard touchdown pass to Brady Peterson that gave the Knights a 14-0 lead before A-P's Alex Frey ripped off a 51-yard run to make the score 14-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Scheel once again lifted the Knights in the second, throwing another touchdown strike to Peterson before hauling in a 21-yard touchdown reception of his own from Trev Hadachek.

When the clock struck 00:00 in the fourth quarter, Scheel and Hadachek had some impressive numbers, but it was the third and fourth weapons on offense that keyed the Knights success.

Andrew Osuna returned after missing week one with an injury and ground out 64 yards on 14 carries. Hadachek carried just ten times Friday night, showing that Osuna's presence in the lineup will alleviate the workload Hadachek encountered in week one. In addition to Osuna's valuable carries, Brady Peterson led the Knights receiving core snagging four catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.

After speaking with Head Coach Joe Hadachek in week one, other players besides Hadachek and Scheel were highly sought after to step up a 45-42 season-opening heartbreaker.

It sure looks like they responded.

Give credit to the offense, they toppled the 40-point barrier in consecutive weeks, but it was the defense that helped win this slugfest. After allowing 45 points in week one, they limited an A-P offense to 14 points following a 52-point showing in their season-opener against North Tama. Aside from touchdown carries of 51 and 63 yards, the Knights somewhat limited the A-P rushing attack while forcing three turnovers.

With the win, the Knights 1-1 (0-0) head into 2A District 3 play with a little momentum. They travel to Central Springs 0-2 (0-0) this upcoming Friday night as they begin their chase for a 2A District 3 title.