Football Recap: Nick Tinkle and Jaxon Hale Pace Hagerstown Defense

It can be hard to translate regular season success to the playoffs, but Hagerstown had no problem doing just that on Friday. They strolled past the Union City Indians with points to spare, taking the game 31-13. The victory continues a trend for the Tigers in their matchups with the Indians: they've now won five in a row.

Lincoln Small

Rushing Yards

08/29/25 vs Centerville	7
10/03/25 @ Winchester Community	64
08/22/25 vs Knightstown	86
09/19/25 vs Cambridge City Lincoln	92
10/10/25 vs Tri	105

Hagerstown found their leader in freshman Lincoln Small, who rushed for 202 yards while picking up 8.1 yards per carry. Those 202 rushing yards set a new season-high mark for Small. Nick Tinkle also helped with three touchdowns in total.

Hagerstown was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 234 rushing yards. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their rushing yard total in three consecutive contests.

Hagerstown didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off six passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Tinkle and Jaxon Hale. Tinkle got in on the action too, converting a pick into a touchdown.

When it comes to explaining why Union City lost, don't look at D'Shaun Ware. Despite the final result, he picked up 206 receiving yards and a pair of scores, and also rushed for 49 yards. Ware really caught the secondary sleeping when he pulled down a catch that went for 82 yards.

Hagerstown's win bumped their record up to 4-6. As for Union City, their loss was their seventh straight on the road dating back to last season, which dropped their record down to 2-8.

Looking ahead, Hagerstown will venture away from home to challenge Monroe Central at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Union City does not have any more games scheduled as of now.