Gate City. Union.

[Unchained]

9 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

Kid has wheels, thats for sure. I think Union has four legit threats to go the distance at any time in the passing game with Maddux, Bunch, Anderson and either Keith out of backfield, Rayvion, #10 (the name escapes me, is that Wharton?) who had a giant play tonight. You can’t afford to stack the box, Bostic is connecting on those deep shots now. Offense is very dangerous with that threat. 

Yep Wharton. McCoo is going to be a good one too.

[BigWinners]

1 minute ago, Unchained said:

Yep Wharton. McCoo is going to be a good one too.

He a youngster? Cupboard is far from bare going forward with Abe coming back next year snd kids like Potter and Swiney coming up. 

[Unchained]

33 minutes ago, BigWinners said:

He a youngster? Cupboard is far from bare going forward with Abe coming back next year snd kids like Potter and Swiney coming up. 

He is. We will have to develop a line quickly, but weapons will be plenty for Hall at QB. I do think we'll have to run more spread with him. He's more of a drop back/pocket passer. He doesn't have wheels like Bostic has.

[KevinG]

Hats off to Union.  They played a great game.  In my opinion, Gate City had a lukewarm performance tonight.  Gate City’s best play of the night was an unbelievable catch made by Parker Jenkins on 4th down in the first half.  GC really needs to find their passing game.  Get Jenkins and other receivers into space and sling it.  GC has very capable running backs in Byrd and Hillman, but teams expect the run from GC.  Time to venture out a little.

[CriticalNoise]

7 minutes ago, KevinG said:

Hats off to Union.  They played a great game.  In my opinion, Gate City had a lukewarm performance tonight.  Gate City’s best play of the night was an unbelievable catch made by Parker Jenkins on 4th down in the first half.  GC really needs to find their passing game.  Get Jenkins and other receivers into space and sling it.  GC has very capable running backs in Byrd and Hillman, but teams expect the run from GC.  Time to venture out a little.

that should've never been completed, unless I counted wrong, union slid by with 12 men on the field that play. 

that ball seemed like it hung in the air forever with 3 defenders on him.

Edited October 4 by CriticalNoise

[BigWinners]

8 minutes ago, KevinG said:

Hats off to Union.  They played a great game.  In my opinion, Gate City had a lukewarm performance tonight.  Gate City’s best play of the night was an unbelievable catch made by Parker Jenkins on 4th down in the first half.  GC really needs to find their passing game.  Get Jenkins and other receivers into space and sling it.  GC has very capable running backs in Byrd and Hillman, but teams expect the run from GC.  Time to venture out a little.

Incredible play by Jenkins (any relation to the Jenkins that was such a speedster and played college ball?), I thought there was zero chance thats completed. It was right in front of me and Union had it well covered, kid just made an astounding in-air adjustment to grab it.  

[KevinG]

Just now, BigWinners said:

Incredible play by Jenkins (any relation to the Jenkins that was such a speedster and played college ball?), I thought there was zero chance thats completed. It was right in front of me and Union had it well covered, kid just made an astounding in-air adjustment to grab it.  

It’s his brother.  

[BigWinners]

1 minute ago, KevinG said:

It’s his brother.  

Carson was the flash man, his in game speed was one of a kind. Little bro doesn’t seem to have quite his wheels but showed great hands and elite body control. 

[KevinG]

1 minute ago, BigWinners said:

Carson was the flash man, his in game speed was one of a kind. Little bro doesn’t seem to have quite his wheels but showed great hands and elite body control. 

Yeah I saw where Carson was all conference last year at W&M.  He still plays

[Unchained]

Access provided by Watauga Orthopaedics

BIG STONE GAP — It was a second half nightmare for the Blue Devils.

Union scored 28 points, including 21 in the third quarter, to roll past Gate City, 42-21, in a Mountain 7 District contest at an electric Bullitt Park on a Friday night in which former Powell Valley seven-time state championship head coach Phil Robbins, who died on Sept. 21, was honored by both teams prior to the game.

Travis Turner, whose father, Tom Turner, was a coaching legend himself at Appalachia High School, served as an assistant under Robbins for four seasons before becoming the head coach at Union when Powell Valley and Appalachia consolidated in 2011. 

"Being able to honor Coach Robbins, first home game we have had since his passing," Turner said. "Coach has been great to a lot of young kids in this area, in Big Stone Gap, Southwest Virginia, him doing the work at UVA Wise and helping them with their recruiting.

"I was very fortunate to be on Coach Robbins’ staff for about four years at Powell Valley. I am real good friends with Brad, his son. It was a huge honor to be to coach under him and learn a lot of different things. It was good. I had a good time coaching with him, learned a lot and Coach Robbins did a lot of good things for the kids in this area."

Union (6-0, 3-0) put that experience to work against the Blue Devils, breaking open a 14-14 halftime tie with a trio of third quarter touchdowns led by quarterback Kam Bostic, senior running back Keith Chandler, a physical offensive line and the defensive prowess of Carlos Anderson.

"We walked into halftime and I was like, ‘Look guys, it is 0-0 right now in my book'," said Chandler, who ran for 126 yards and two second half touchdowns. "We made a couple of adjustments. I told my front line, ‘if ya’ll get pushes off the line I am going to get four or five yards a carry' so I feel like we came out in the second half and played a lot better than we did in the first half."

Gate City had the ball to open the second half, but the Bears followed plan, forcing the Blue Devils to punt. It was all Bears from that point. 

"We had to try to get a stop and force a punt and we wanted to get the ball and try to get the momentum of the game," Turner said. "Our offensive line did a really good job up front, Keith Chandler running the football and our running backs did a good job blocking for him and Kam Bostic hit a couple of big throws to kind of get that momentum. Once we got that momentum we didn’t let it go."

Bostic put the Bears up to stay with a perfect over-the-shoulder pass to Camden Wharton, who ran the rest of 74 yards for a touchdown. The athletic Bostic, who finished with 162 yards passing on just four completions, helps to take some of the pressure away from Chandler. 

"Having him next to me is amazing because I know I don’t have got to do everything myself," Chandler said. "Having him there is just a blessing."

Gate City had a fourth down on its next possession and went for it, but Reed was unable to elude Kaden Dillman, who sacked him to give the Bears the ball on Gate City’s side of the field. Bostic then connected with Braxton Bunch from 31 yards and 210-pound Chandler followed with an 18-yard scoring run for a 28-14 lead four minutes after the previous score.

Chandler resembles a battering ram carrying the ball, punishing anyone who tries to bring him down, serving to wear down the defense as the game goes on. He also has a huge offensive line he calls his "beef monsters" to give him room to run. 

"Just stay low to the ground and just bounce off people left and right and try to keep my big legs churning," Chandler said. "I feel like I did wear them down." 

It was the Union defense again on Gate City's next possession, as Anderson chased down Reed, swiped the ball from him and dashed 25 yards to the end zone for a 35-14 lead with 1:32 left in the third period.

"Dillman got the big tackle for loss and Carlos Anderson with the sack and stripped fumble touchdown was unbelievable," Turner said. "It was a great play, I am looking forward to watching that one on film."

Walker Hillman pulled the Blue Devils within 35-21 with a 47-yard scoring run, but the Bears answered with a 1-yard leap into the end zone by Chandler for the final margin. Hillman finished with 160 yards on 24 carries, but the Bears limited Corey Byrd, who had been making big plays all season, to 26 yards on the ground and five yards on two receptions. 

"Hillman is a really hard runner," Chandler said. "Coming in, we knew we had to wrap him up really good."

The teams traded touchdowns in each of the first two quarters. Reed capped a 13-play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard dive in the first period, with Bostic answering with an 18-yard run. Union took advantage of a special teams snafu from Gate City later in the second quarter, with punter Parker Jenkins grabbing an errant snap and trying to kick it on the run, but it only went about 10 yards where it was caught by Union's Josh Guerrant. 

Union took over at the Gate City 24 and two plays later, Bostic scored from 13 yards to put the Bears up, but the Blue Devils answered with a 2-yard plunge from Mason Hickman to tie the score at 14 going into halftime. 

"The defense played lights out in the second half," Turner said. "Give Gate City, give them a ton of credit, they were ready to roll and they punched us in the mouth in the first quarter."

Kamron Bishop connected on all six of extra point conversion kicks for the Bears, while Brayden Smith hit all four his attempts for the Blue Devils, with Chandler having expected a hard-hitting contest with Gate City, much like their win earlier this season against defending Class 2 state champion Graham. 

"I knew coming into this game tonight it was going to be really physical," Chandler said. "When we played Graham a couple of weeks ago it was a really physical game. I was like ‘Look guys, we have to come in just like we did with Graham and handle business'."

They did, on a special night in Big Stone Gap when the community honored one of their own. 

"I think this community was proud and tonight was electric, a great atmosphere and this is a proud community and we are excited to play football here on Friday nights at Bullitt Park on Phil Robbins Field," Turner said. 

Gate City (4-2, 1-1) has struggled at Bullitt Park, dropping its ninth game in a row in Big Stone Gap and falling to 5-14 all-time against the Bears. The Blue Devils will look to rebound next Friday at John Battle. 

"We knew coming in that Gate City is tough, they play tough football, they play tough every year," Turner said. "We made some big plays, got the momentum and I just thought our kids played extremely hard.

"I thought Gate City played extremely hard, they are definitely one of the top teams in the area, they are going to be hard to handle in the playoffs."

[Union_Fan]

First Downs: GC 11, U 16; Rushes-Yards: GC 34-166, U 24-172; Passing Yards: GC 52, U 165; Comp.-Att.-Int.: GC 5-13-0, U 4-6-0; Penalties: GC 7-80, U 6-60; Fumbles-Lost: GC 2-1, U 0-0; Punts-Average: GC 3-22, U 1-32

[Gridiron60]

Union’s passing game has really improved this year. On paper , Gate City didn’t do badly against a team playing at the highest level of competitiveness right now. Union will roll right into the regional championship barring any serious injuries. This is a seasoned well rounded team loaded with talented athletes. 

[Union_Fan]

Gate City is a very good team. I would not be surprised at all to see them in the region championship game. Very solid on the line, just not deep. I could see a pass heavy team like Lebanon being a bad match up for them.

[Unchained]

9 minutes ago, Union_Fan said:

Gate City is a very good team. I would not be surprised at all to see them in the region championship game. Very solid on the line, just not deep. I could see a pass heavy team like Lebanon being a bad match up for them.

I think Hillman would have a field day vs Lebanon's soft line. GC would ground and pound, play keep away and win the game.

[Union_Fan]

Just now, Unchained said:

I think Hillman would have a field day vs Lebanon's soft line. GC would ground and pound, play keep away and win the game.

I agree. I think it could be a shootout. GC running everywhere, Lebanon passing everywhere unless they got pressure on Reece.

[vol_husky]

Some GC people on Facebook blaming refs. I thought the refs called a mostly fair game. There were some missed calls both ways but regardless of the outcome you can’t blame the refs. 

[Unchained]

1 minute ago, vol_husky said:

Some GC people on Facebook blaming refs. I thought the refs called a mostly fair game. There were some missed calls both ways but regardless of the outcome you can’t blame the refs. 

Yeah I had to weigh in on that:)

[Unchained]

Just now, Unchained said:

Yeah I had to weigh in on that:) We had 2 straight missed PI plays (one was blatantly obvious),but we didn't make excuses about it.

 

[vol_husky]

1 hour ago, Unchained said:

Yeah I had to weigh in on that:)

Well North Greene won 19-14 by the way. Not to stray off topic

[S10SQUAREBODY4LIFE]

2 hours ago, Unchained said:

I think Hillman would have a field day vs Lebanon's soft line. GC would ground and pound, play keep away and win the game.

They gave up 20 last night to battle,  don't think they even care about defense

[CriticalNoise]

1 hour ago, vol_husky said:

Some GC people on Facebook blaming refs. I thought the refs called a mostly fair game. There were some missed calls both ways but regardless of the outcome you can’t blame the refs. 

Sore losers always blame the refs. 

[vol_husky]

4 minutes ago, CriticalNoise said:

Sore losers always blame the refs. 

They’ll get over it. 
 

Before every game in Tennessee, the announcers usually announce a message from TSSAA talking about sportsmanship. That most calls are made in good faith and with the official’s judgement and that fans should keep it in perspective that these are high school athletes. 
 

Sometimes I’ll yell at a ref when they make a seemingly dumb call or miss a seemingly obvious call, but you still keep it in perspective. 

[gchs791]

gc will have to have a better coach to run with union

[goose111874]

On 10/4/2025 at 11:27 AM, vol_husky said:

Some GC people on Facebook blaming refs. I thought the refs called a mostly fair game. There were some missed calls both ways but regardless of the outcome you can’t blame the refs. 

So the refs made a 21 point difference???  I’ve seen bad officiating cost a team but not in a 21 point game 

[CriticalNoise]

19 hours ago, gchs791 said:

gc will have to have a better coach to run with union

and depth, and talent.