KIDDER HOPES TO GET UNION POINTED IN RIGHT DIRECTION

RIMERSBURG – The Union football team has seen its fair share of struggles over the past six years, and first-year head coach Tom Kidder will have to have patience if things are going to turn around for the Golden Knights.

"They have a great bunch of boys here who were just victims of a struggling program over the past few years," Kidder, who was the head coach at Moniteau until 2002 and who played at East Brady, said. "The school board has been great, and I am hoping to be able to turn the program around."

It won’t be an easy task for Kidder, who is the fourth head coach in the past five years at Union (the fifth in five years if you count Jason Best who took the job last year but resigned over the summer before ever coaching a game or a practice). With all the turmoil, Union has lost 11 consecutive games, the longest streak in District 9, and 24 of its last 27 games. Over the past six season, the Golden Knights are 10-46 and haven’t had a winning season since going 5-4 in 1997. The winning record in 1997 was only the third winning record the Golden Eagles have had since winning back-to-back Little 12 regular-season crowns in 1984 and 1985.

To add to Union’s woes is the fact that only 21 players are out for this season’s team including just two seniors.

"We lost 12 seniors to graduation, and two would-be senior players did not come out for the team," Kidder said. "There’s a good group of junior and sophomores who will be getting a lot of experience this year. They key will be to stay healthy. If we can, we will surprise some teams this year."

One of the seniors who elected not to play this season was last year’s starting quarterback Adam Milanovich, who was a two-year starter at QB.

Last year he went 91-for-195 for 868 yards, three touchdowns and 15 interceptions.

With Milanovich absent from this year’s team, sophomore Josh Holden and junior Toby Best are battling it out for the starting quarterback slot.

Holden and Best both carried the football last year with Holden gaining 36 yards on 15 carries and Best nine on one tote.

At tailback for the Golden Knights will be another youngster in sophomore Colt Lineman, while junior Colten Davis will be at fullback. Davis rushed two times for three yards last season

The wide receivers will be sophomores Brett Moore and Brett Switzer, while senior Nate Carmichael and junior Michael Brothers will play tight end. Neither had a catch last season.

On the offensive line, junior Donald Anthony (5-11, 200) and sophomore Tom Rainey (6-0, 175) will be the guards, senior Andrew Wiant (5-8, 250) will be at center with freshman Drew Logue (5-11, 180) waiting in the wings and the tackles will be juniors Rick Laskey (6-1, 220) and Corey Hepler (5-10, 240).

On defense, Carmichael, Brothers and Moore will be the defensive ends, sophomore Jeremy Lewis (6-2, 340) and sophomore Jim Greenwalt (5-10, 245) will be the defensive tackles and Hepler the nose guard.

The linebacking corps consists of Davis, Rainey, Lineman and Anthony with Best at free safety and Moore and Holden at the corners.