The Union/A-C Valley High School football team began and finished their Friday night victory with big defensive plays.

The Falcon Knights beat the Moniteau Warriors 40-21 in a KSAC crossover matchup, and it began with a fumble recovery that U-ACV's Quintin Crissman returned 49 yards for the first touchdown of the game, 11 minutes remained.

U-ACV's coach David Louder said he saw a continued improvement on his team's balanced effort on offense and defense, but he was especially pleased with the secondaries who he challenged after a poor performance last week. He said the proof showed in the turnovers.

“We're making sure we are more physical and continuing that physicality all the way through,” Louder said. “We gave up some, but it was a big defensive night for us.”

The Warriors (1-2) continued to struggle with mental errors as the game progressed, including two bad snaps on punts that the punter had to pick up and ran with, which led to turnovers-on-downs deep in their own territory.

Moniteau coach Wade Vogan said he can't blame his offense for the loss. He said the mistakes cost them a more competitive game. Vogan said he is impressed with his special teams unit, but Friday was not their night.

“We can't start the game of the way we started the game off (tonight) and expect to turn things around like that,” Vogan said. “Any time you make mistakes like that, it's detrimental.”

The Falcon Knights capitalized on these opportunities as the teams continued to trade blows throughout the half with U-ACV slowly pulling away the lead.

The Falcon Knights scored in the first quarter on a 24-yard pass play from quarterback Lucas Bowser to receiver Kody Wolfe.

In the second, Bowser ran 27 yards to score and running back Lane Chalmers scored on a 6-yard run. Kicker Jeffrey Ginn was 3-4 on extra points in the first half.

Moniteau returned with a touchdown in both the first and second quarter. The first came on a 12-yard run by receiver Dalton Anderson. Anderson caught the touchdown pass in the second quarter from quarterback Chance Nagy with kicker Steven Fawcett netting 2-2 extra points.

The teams exited the first half with a 27-14 score in favor of U-ACV.

The Falcon Knights continued a steady pace on offense in the second half while Moniteau began to slow. The Falcon Knights ran the clock down for much of the fourth quarter thanks to a fumble recovery by defensive end AJ Peterson and a string of first downs on running plays.

By the time U-ACV's Greg Duncan scored the game's final touchdown, a 20-yard run with 5:55 remaining, the victory appeared certain, but the Warriors took the ball back with under a minute left in the game. The drive turned out to be short-lived as cornerback Isaac Yoder intercepted a pass by Moniteau quarterback Chance Nagy, the first of his varsity football career.

“It feels good,” Yoder said. “It's the first one ever.”

Louder said the key was keeping solid coverage on Moniteau's Anderson and disrupting the timing between the Nagy and the rest of his receivers.

Moniteau's Nagy finished the game completing eight-of-19 passes for 126 yards and one interception. Anderson finished with five catches for 74 yards and his only touchdown was a running play.

Yoder said the Falcon Knights secondary was determined to prove their value. He said the group followed the coaches' instruction when it came to early blocks and steady coverage meant to throw off the routes of Warrior receivers. He said they paid special attention to Anderson, and it all paid off.

“We knew what he was capable of and we keyed in on him,” Yoder said.

Yoder said Friday night's performance proves the secondary will continue to improve and hold their own against future opponents.

“I definitely feel that the secondary improved,” he said. “We definitely felt challenged, and we knew we had to step up.”