Union cruises to win over Cornell
Union (44) vs. Cornell (0)
Written: Oct 08, 2016
 By Ron Poniewasz Jr.
New Castle News
The Union High football team got back to the basics Friday night.
A stingy defense coupled with a potent ground attack was the recipe for success for the Scotties.
Union allowed just 106 yards of total offense and rolled up 264 of its 354 total yards on the ground in a 44-0 WPIAL Class 1A Big Seven Conference home win over Cornell.
The win propelled the Scotties (2-3 conference, 3-4 overall) into a three-way tie with Western Beaver (2-3, 3-3) and Shenango (2-3, 2-4) in the section standings. Union owns a head-to-head win over the Golden Beavers and will visit the Wildcats in the season finale.
Five teams from the conference will reach the postseason.
“I’m just trying to keep winning every week and see where the dust settles after that,” Scotties coach Stacy Robinson said. “Our backs are up against the wall, we know that.”
The Raiders (0-5, 0-6) are competing in football for the first season since 2011. They were blanked for the third straight week and have tallied just 12 points all season.
Union avoided a second consecutive slow start when Rissaun McKnight scored two first-quarter touchdowns. Last week, in a 26-20 upset loss at Summit Academy, the Scotties trailed 14-0 after just two drives.
“We can’t let Summit Academy beat us two weeks in a row. We had to forget about that and move on,” Robinson said. “We’re not good enough to spot anyone 14 points.
“We knew what we had to do tonight and we came out ready.”
McKnight scored on runs of 8 and 11 yards.
“I feel like I played well and I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to been able to do that without my line,” McKnight said. “I didn’t stop moving my feet. I just kept pushing.”
McKnight, a Woodland Hills transfer, recorded 50 yards on eight carries.
“The main thing about Rissaun is he’s a great kid to coach,” Robinson said. “He’s just a good kid and anything that comes to him is well deserved. He works hard and he is coachable.
“This is what I expect from him. He’s getting better each week, on both sides of the ball. He does what he’s coached to do.”
Tre’von Charles collected three touchdowns for Union. He scored on runs of 10 and 70 yards, while returning an interception for a 45-yard score.
“Tre Charles is a good football player,” Robinson said. “He’s starting to realize what I tell him about answering the bell in the fourth quarter, both in the tough times and in the good times. He’s coming around to that and he’s responding.”
Charles posted 127 rushing yards on nine carries. He displayed his breakaway speed on the 70-yard scoring tote in the third period.
“I tell him to stick your foot in the ground and get up field. Nobody is making any money running to the outside in high school football,” Robinson said. “He got up inside the block, hit the sideline and he was off to the races (on the 70-yard run).”
The Scotties preserved the shutout by stopping the Raiders on downs inside their 5 midway through the final frame. It’s the second shutout in the last four games for Union and third time in the last four matchups the squad has allowed single digits.
“I think we played excellent on defense tonight,” McKnight said. “They had a real big running back, but we came to play on defense.
“I feel like we are running to the ball as a team. At first, we played really lazy at the beginning of the season. I feel like we’re picking up the tempo now. We’re not starting out as flat as we were.”
Quarterback Evan Pinkerton returned to the Scotties’ lineup in a reserve role. His availability leaves Robinson with a dilemma moving forward at the position. Freshman Tyler Benedict has started each of the last six games.
“Evan adds another dimension to our game,” Robinson said. “Tyler has done a great job for a young, freshman quarterback. But Evan also brings another dimension.
“If we have to use them both, we’ll use them both. I’m sure they’ll both get in. They both have different strengths. Tyler has done a great job. I have no complaints about his performance at all.”
Union returns to action at 7 p.m. next Saturday when it travels Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (3-2, 4-2). The game will be played at Moon High School.
The matchup originally was set for 8 p.m. Friday at Robert Morris, but was moved because of a scheduling conflict.
(Email: rponiewasz@ncnewsonline).
CORNELL UNION
6 First downs 12
121 Yards Rushing 278
44 Yards Lost 14
77 Net Rushing 264
6 Passes Attempted 3
3 Passes Completed 3
1 Passes Intercepted 0
2 Yards Passing 76
106 Total Yards 354
4 Fumbles-Lost 0-0
1 Punts-Average 1-37
7-45 Penalties-Yards 3-30
CORNELL 0 0 0 0 — 0
UNION 14 21 9 0 — 44
Scoring plays
UNION — Rissaun McKnight, 8-yard run (kick failed).
UNION — McKnight, 11-yard run (Tre'von Charles run).
UNION — Charles, 10-yard run (Tyrone Louis kick).
UNION — Evan Pinkerton, 2-yard run (kick failed).
UNION — Charles, 45-yard interception return (McKnight run).
UNION — Safety.
UNION — Charles, 70-yard run (Louis kick).
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