Spartans dominate in historic win
Union gets first win in 16 games on rare Monday night outing
Sampson County football fans were treated to a Monday night football game, as Union hosted Spring Creek for what was originally scheduled for last Friday. A water main break affected the school, causing the game to be postponed until this week while it was fixed. Spartan fans were treated even further, as the home team won its first game since 2023, its third since 2019, and now holds a 1-0 record for the first time since 2016.
With Union receiving the first kickoff, Spring Creek elected for a surprise onside kick, giving Union the ball first at its own 49. Two straight handoffs to Tobias ‘Toby’ Cromartie gave the Spartans a first down, but a dropped screen by Manny Adams showed the first slip-up of Union’s offense thus far.
A sweep to the right side on a pitch to Cromartie — decked out in green gloves, mouth guard and cleats, possibly as a sign of taunting the Gators — gave Union the first touchdown of the year at the 10:18 mark. Cromartie completed the coveted snowman on a dive to the right, getting all eight points of the touchdown and two-point conversion himself for the 8-0 lead.
Union’s kick trickled out of bounds, but the Gators spun their wheels in the mud, facing a third and 14 after Adams disrupted a play in the backfield and a fourth and 20 on nearly the exact same play following a false start.
A direct snap to Cromartie started the next drive, with No. 1 lining up as the QB out of the Wildcat formation. A block in the back negated a huge run, followed by an illegal chop block. This gave Union first and about 20, but that didn’t matter to Cromartie and Co. much, as he took another run up the left side for a massive gain, taking it all the way to the 18.
Switching things up, it was Joseph Suarez who bullied his way into the end zone this time from up up-back position. He completed the snowman as well on the two-point, and just like that, Union led 16-0 with 5:32 to play in the first quarter.
Spring Creek grabbed its first first down of the night on an offsides call on third and short, and a hold on the next play negated all of the yards plus more on first and 10. The penalties continued racking up for both sides, with Jayden Lira being the subject of a block below the waist that had him on the turf for a considerable amount of time before walking off the field under his own power.
Spring Creek’s drive moved backwards considerably, with no play coming anywhere close to a net positive yardage. Another big sack on third and three sets of chains gave fourth and about the distance from Union High School to Midway. The ensuing punt saw Cromartie house it for his second touchdown of the night, but as was tradition, it was called back on a penalty.
The Spartans set up shop at their own 44 with time for just one more play in the opening quarter. It went to Cromartie once more on a short dive. With a stalled out drive on fourth and short, Derik Aycock aired it out deep for a leaping Kenny Ray Bailey, who couldn’t complete the catch, giving possession to the Gators on downs.
The Gators knocked, but Union shut the door on them, keeping them out of the red zone. A quick drive came next for the black and red, and a long run by Suarez scored another, with Cromartie adding the pair on the XP for a 24-0 Union lead with 2:56 left in the half, which was the score as the game moved to the halftime intermission.
Union kicked off to start the second half, needing just a couple more scores to hit the newly-implemented 35-point threshold for the running clock.
A nearly six-minute drive for the Gators fizzled out, and the hosts took over at their own 46, but Aycock took a huge loss on a sack. A pair of unsportsmanlike penalties on the Gators ejected one and gave Union 30 yards and first and 10 at the Spring Creek 31. A run by Cromartie ended in a horse collar, setting up Bryson Riley to take a pass from Aycock up the right side for a 16-yard strike. Cromartie was no good on the two-point attempt, but the score showed 30-0 with 4:13 left in the third.
A strip on a run gave Khriztopher Ramirez a long scoop and score to push Union over the mercy threshold, starting the running clock with just over a minute left in the third and all of the fourth.
The teams traded a couple of possessions down the stretch, amounting to no big plays or anything substantial, and Union took the 38-0 win.
Following the game, Cromartie shared how the win felt for the workhorse sophomore, who saw action in every facet of the Spartans’ win. “It feels great. We’ve been putting a lot of work, my team and I. We’ve been putting in a great amount of work on and off the field, training and all that. It feels great. It feels great, first dub and it’s at home.”
On his choice of accessories, which many could speculate were a taunt or a tease of the Gators, Cromartie shared that might not have been the case… originally. “I wouldn’t say it was a taunt, but I’ve been wanting this for a long time, and I heard we were playing Spring Creek, so I felt like it was the perfect opportunity to go ahead and pull it out.”
Mark Oates, Union’s head coach and the ever-jovial Clinton grad, revelled in what it meant to him as well. “I’m very happy with these young men. That’s what it’s all about for me. I tell them all the time, I want them to experience winning. I’ve experienced winning. I know what it feels like. I want them to feel it. I see the looks on their faces tonight, and it’s satisfying.”
Union moves to 1-0 and is off the rest of this week. The next Spartan game is next Friday at Bear Grass Charter.
