Happy Homecoming
Numerous parties lead Uniontown to decisive victory over Yough
Grace Perkins was crowned Uniontown’s Homecoming Queen at halftime, but if there was a Homecoming King for the gridiron, the Red Raiders had plenty of candidates in a 62-0 non-conference victory over Yough on Friday night at Bill Power Stadium.
Seniors Brayden Hinzy, Tayshawn Jackson and Michael Thomas would have been in the running for the prize, while Marcus Evans, Taylor Galloway and Nate Hice made a case for themselves as the junior representatives.
Hinzy was 10 of 14 for 245 yards and he threw four touchdown passes, including three to Evans, who pulled in four receptions for 103 yards and scored on a 40-yard run for Uniontown’s first touchdown on its first possession.
Jackson raced 72 yards for a touchdown and Thomas ran for 58 yards on eight carries and reached the end zone. Galloway caught two passes for 84 yards, including one for a touchdown, and Hice had a 65-yard run to the two-yard line before scoring.
Freshman Brody Brooks scored on a five-yard run and fellow ninth grader Thomas Simpson connected on four PATs in substituting for starting kicker Hunter Smithburger, who was away at a firefighters’ convention this week.
The Red Raiders (3-2) scored on all nine of their possessions and their defense didn’t allow the Cougars (0-5) to pick up a first down in earning their second shutout of the season.
“I thought a lot of good players just made plays,” Uniontown coach Tim Bukowski said. “They (Yough) are a little down, it’s their coach’s first year and they are rebuilding. I was proud that we came out strong, took it to them early and put it away.
“I thought we played better on special teams. We wanted to eliminate the penalties (from last week). We had some blocks in the back called on us, but those are hustle penalties. I thought the dumb penalties, like lining up wrong, we kind of corrected that.”
Steele Stash ran in a two-point conversion and threw to Thomas for a second two pointer.
Bukowski and his staff didn’t have the second two-point attempt drawn up and apologized to the Yough coaching staff following the game.
“The first two-point conversion was by design because we didn’t have our kicker, but that last one was something we would have never done,” Bukowski said. “Our kids said it was a high snap, but I told their coach, ‘Obviously, we didn’t try that.’ We want to show some respect to their guys.”
Nyzeh Thomas ended a Cougars’ drive with an interception and Asante Martin recovered a fumble for the home team.
Evans and Hinzy are developing into one of the top duos in the WPIAL. Hinzy has thrown for 967 yards and 13 touchdowns through five games, while Evans has caught 22 passes for 596 yards and nine touchdowns. He has two rushing scores.
“When Marcus touches the football, it’s usually a good thing,” Bukowski said. “When you have a guy like Marcus, when he gets out in the open field, it’s like men against boys. He’s just that fast, and he keeps getting better.
“Brayden has really stepped up this year. He’s been precise, and I thought he made some great decisions with his feet. He is a smart player and knows when to let it go.”
Uniontown opens up conference play in Week 6 against Albert Gallatin (2-3) at Bill Power Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
“We’re excited to get into conference play now,” Bukowski said. “We’ve had five games to prepare, and AG is a team that beat us up last year, so we have to be ready to play.”