Uniontown clinches TRL championship

Herald-Tribune

UNIONTOWN, Kan. -- Uniontown won its first Three Rivers League-Upper Division championship since 2002 Friday night as the Eagles defeated Pleasanton, 40-6.

The Eagles finished the league portion of their schedule with a 3-0 record while improving to 6-1 on the season overall and winning their first game in Kansas Class 2-1A, District 5 play. Pleasanton finished second in the league at 2-1, fell to 2-5 overall and will have a tough road to travel if it wants to come back and gain a playoff berth.

Uniontown and Pittsburg Colgan gained the upper hand in District play as Colgan won over Humboldt, 14-0, Friday night at Pittsburg. Pleasanton hosts Colgan this coming Friday while Uniontown takes on the previously-unbeaten Cubs at Humboldt.

This was the first week of district play in Kansas.

Gage McKinnis helped the Eagles jump out to a 13-0 lead early as he scored on 47- and 44-yard runs. Brandon Boyd converted the first PAT kick,

Eagle quarterback Chad Hays scored on a 10-yard run and Boyd's kick made it 20-0 after one period.

McKinnis scored his third TD on a one-yard run in the second quarter to make it 27-0. David Shank scored later on a 12-yard run. Zach Mason added a one-yard scoring run and Travis Aikins threw to Jamie Shelton for the two-point conversion to make it 40-0 at the half.

Uniontown didn't score in the second half. Josh Scritchfield scored Pleasanton's only TD on a one-yard run in the fourth quarter.

McKinnis finished with 189 yards on 11 carries. Mason gained 68 on 13 totes. Shank had 29 on just five rushes and Hays gained 30 on only three carries.

Shelton caught two passes for 42 yards. Shank was the leading tackler for Uniontown with nine while Heath Clayton had eight.

The Eagles gained 356 of their 398 total yards on the ground. Pleasanton had 120 total yards, rushing for 73 on 31 carries.

Uniontown had no turnovers while Pleasanton lost two fumbles.

Note: The TRL did not officially sanction 11-man football in 2004 and 2005 because only three members of the league were playing at that level. While Uniontown did defeat the other two TRL 11-man teams last season, 2002 was the last time Uniontown won over a full field of teams. This is Uniontown's 12th Three Rivers League title. The Eagles also won two championships in the Linn League, which is considered a predecessor to the TRL (both titles coming in the 1960's).