game-notes-uvawise08.. - Union College Athletics

2008 UNION BULLDOG FOOTBALL
in 5 of the games.
In the games Union has not led in time of
possession, the team is 1-2. In the two losses,
the Bulldogs have been held under 23 minutes
in time of possession.
Despite nearly rallying back to beat Shorter
(Ga.) on Oct. 23, Union was limited to a
season-low 22:13.
Making Second-Half Adjustments
Union owns the third quarter this season,
outscoring its opponents 83-21. The Bulldogs
hold a slight edge in the first half, outscoring
opponents 139-115 during the first two quarters.
However, Union has only allowed 21 points
in the third quarter - 14 of them coming in
the 45-27 win at West Virginia Tech on Oct.
4. Although WV Tech scored 14 in the third,
Union reeled off 28 points in the frame. A
big reason for this is due to the fact that the
Bulldogs average 7:56 in time of possession
in the third quarter. Currently, Union averages
16:07 in time of possession in the second half,
but only average 13:30 in the first half.
Opponents do hold the advantage in the
fourth quarter, outscoring Union 73-40. Yet,
Union has owned at least a 7-point lead going
into the fourth quarter in all but 2 games.
However, versus Cumberlands, the game was
tied at 21 going into the fourth, and the Patriots
outscored Union 14-7 in the fourth to pull out
the 35-28 victory. This marked the first time all
season Union trailed in the fourth quarter.
Against Shorter, Union trailed 28-14 heading
into the fourth as the Hawks held on for the 33-
27 decision on Oct. 23.
Score by Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total
Union 59 80 83 40 - 262
Opponents 55 60 21 73 - 209
By Air Or By Land - UC Getting It Done
By and large, Union has been a pass-oriented
team in recent years. However, judging by the
first 8 games, things could be changing.
Union tallied 2,796 total yards on offense
with 1,654 through the air and 1,142 on the
ground - one of the more balanced attacks
Union has displayed in some time. In the 23-13
win at Faulkner (Ala.), the Bulldogs racked
up 334 yards rushing and 517 yards in total
offense. The last time Union ran for more than
300 yards came in a 57-27 win over Bethel
(Tenn.) on Oct. 11, 2003, as the Bulldogs
amassed 377 yards on the ground.
But in the last 5 games, Union has been held
to 534 yards rushing while the Bulldogs have
passed for 1,093 yards.
A big reason for the balanced offensive attack
improved and experienced offensive line.
The Bulldogs O-line is anchored by LT
Quintin Borders (SO, 6-6, 318), who was a First
Team All-MSC East selection as a freshman in
2007. C Brock Evans (JR, 6-1, 292) has proven
to be a solid contributor on the line as has RG
Joe Mullinax (SO, 6-0, 317). Currently, Evans
is the lone junior on the 2-deep at any of the
o-line positions and there are no seniors.
GAME NOTES
2008 Mid-South Conference Standings & Stats
East Division
Conference
Overall
W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
UVa-Wise 4-0 1.000 7-1 .875
University of the Cumberlands 4-0 1.000 7-1 .875
Union College 3-1 .750 6-2 .750
Campbellsville University 1-2 .333 2-6 .250
Georgetown College 1-3 .250 3-4 .429
Pikeville College 0-3 .000 1-7 .125
West Virginia Tech 0-4 .000 0-8 .000
Last Week’s Results
Shorter def. Union, 33-27
* Georgetown def. Campbellsville, 51-45
* UVa-Wise def. Pikeville, 14-6
* Cumberlands (Ky.) def. West Virginia Tech, 28-19
* Cumberland (Tenn.) def. Belhaven, 46-43
* Lambuth def. Bethel, 46-28
Faulkner def. Faulkner, 23-21
*-MSC divisional game.
Red-Zone Issues?
The Bulldogs are doing a good job of getting
points in the red zone, scoring 90.0% (27 of 30)
of the time inside the opponents’ 20-yard line.
However, of those 27 red-zone scores, 21 have
been for TDs while Union has booted 6 FGs.
On the flipside, opponents are scoring at a
92.0% rate (23 of 25) inside the red zone with
22 scores being touchdowns. In all, 22 of the
29 touchdowns Union has allowed have come
inside the 20.
Versus Pikeville (Ky.) on Oct. 18, Union
recorded its first red-zone stop as it forced the
Bears to turn the ball over on downs. Pikeville
did end up scoring 3 times in the red-zone, but
West Division
Conference
Overall
W-L Pct. W-L Pct.
Lambuth University 3-0 1.000 6-2 .750
Cumberland University 3-0 1.000 4-3 .571
Shorter College 1-1 .500 6-2 .750
Bethel College 1-2 .333 3-5 .375
Belhaven College 1-2 .333 2-6 .250
Faulkner University 0-4 .000 1-7 .125
This Week’s Schedule
* Cumberlands (Ky.) @ Campbellsville, 1:30 pm
* Georgetown @ Pikeville, 1:30 pm
* Union @ UVa-Wise, 1:30 pm
West Virginia Tech @ Faulkner, 1:30 pm
* Lambuth @ Belhaven, 2:30 pm
* Shorter @ Cumberland (Tenn.), 2:30 pm
*-MSC divisional game; All times are Eastern.
MID-SOUTH CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Cumberland University’s James McClain, Shorter College’s Logan Lollis and Pikeville College’s Kyle Chilton have been
named Mid-South Conference Football Players of the Week, the conference announced on Sunday.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
McClain scored four times -- two rushing and two receiving touchdowns -- to earn MSC Offensive Player of the
Week. The Goodlettsville, Tenn., freshman running back rushed for 57 yards and caught four passes for 160 yards in
Cumberland’s 46-43 win at Belhaven. McClain caught touchdown passes of 70 and 58 yards and ran for touchdowns
from 18 and seven yards to help the Bulldogs remain atop the MSC West with a 3-0 record. Cumberland is 4-3 overall.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lollis recorded 11 tackles -- seven solo and four assisted -- to earn MSC Defensive Player of the Week. The junior
linebacker from Lyons, Ga., also recorded a sack in the Hawks’ 33-27 win over No. 14-ranked Union. Lollis ranks in the
conference’s top-10 in tackles (9.1) and sacks per game (0.6).
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Chilton connected on a pair of pair of fi eld goals to earn MSC Special Teams Player of the Week. The junior placekicker/
punter, made fi eld goals of 45 and 46 yards for the Bears only points in a 14-6 loss to No. 11 UVa-Wise. The Clearwater,
Fla., native, became the program’s all-time fi eld goal leader with his two makes. He also averaged more than 44.4 yards
per punt including two inside the 20 yard line to earn his second straight weekly award.
those scores came in the fourth-quarter against
the second- and third-string defense.
Union made its second red-zone stop against
Shorter (Ga.) on Oct. 23 when the Bulldogs
blocked a 21-yard field goal attempt.
Brinkley Putting Up Quality Numbers
Although he’s been rather quiet and kind
of flying under the radar, QB Mike Brinkley
(R-FR, 6-1, 161) is weaving together a solid
season. Through 8 games, he completed 59.6%
(130 of 218) of his passes for 1,643 yards
- making it 12th 1,500-yard passing season in
program history.
Brinkley also has thrown for 23 TDs,
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