CHERRY TWP — Facing a fourth-and-3 with a chance to secure victory at Moniteau, Union quarterback Brody Shick had two plays to choose from.

When the Golden Knights trotted to the line of scrimmage, the senior found a third option.

Shick saw Kaden McGregor uncovered, called an audible and fired a quick slant, which turned into a 28-yard touchdown with 1:02 to play.

Aaron Graham hauled in the two-point conversion to lock up a 36-27 victory over the Warriors at Moniteau High School on Friday night.

“It was a great audible by 'Shicky,'” said Union coach Dave Louder. “It wasn't either of the two plays we called, but that's what a senior has to step up and do. Then Kaden just ripped it; he's hard to tackle.”

McGregor had a hand in four touchdowns on the night. The senior threw one and ran for two before his receiving score iced the win.

“It felt amazing. I give all (the credit) to our line,” said McGregor. “They blocked great. They do a good job.”

Union (7-1) opened the scoring in a wild, back-and-forth first quarter after Chet Charmichael returned a punt 60 yards to the Moniteau 1-yard line. Shick plunged into the end zone to give the Knights a quick 6-0 lead.

The Warriors (1-7) immediately answered, though, as Dustin Geagan broke off an 80-yard touchdown for a 7-6 edge.

Unfazed, Union called a halfback pass on the next play from scrimmage. McGregor found Graham behind the defense for a 63-yard score and a 14-7 advantage.

It was the game's third touchdown with less than 3 1/2 minutes off the clock.

The frenetic pace slowed until Geagan connected with Drew Yeckel, who slipped a tackle and found the end zone on a 28-yard aerial strike to cut the deficit to 14-13 late in the first.

However, the Knights once again struck back in unlikely fashion on the next play from scrimmage.

McGregor fumbled a toss and appeared destined for a big loss, but he scooped it up, reversed field and outran the Moniteau defense for a 67-yard score to supply Union with a 20-13 cushion with five seconds left in the first quarter.

“The game breaker was the punt return and we had (McGregor) on about an 8-yard loss on a broken play,” said Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell. “There's your two scores right there. You have to contain.”

Despite the deflating big plays, the Warriors wouldn't go away.

Moniteau claimed a 21-20 halftime edge after Geagan rushed for a 4-yard touchdown with 3:29 remaining in the first half. The junior — who moved from running back to quarterback three weeks ago — finished with 211 yards and two scores on 30 carries and also passed for 96 yards.

“He's a phenomenal athlete. He had another great game,” said Campbell of Geagan. “I just wonder what it would have been like if we went with Geagan (at quarterback) right from the start.”

Louder let his team know he wasn't happy about trailing after two quarters.

“I had to get into them because they were playing lazy,” Louder explained. “Geagan is so dangerous and we knew that was the guy we had to stop. In the third quarter, we went to a base defense. ... We went back to Week 1 football and they played great.”

Union reclaimed the lead on an 8-yard run by McGregor in the third quarter. The score was set up after Shick rolled out and hit Graham on a 27-yard gain on a fourth-and-10 from the Moniteau 35-yard line.

The Golden Knights recovered the ensuing kickoff and didn't allow the Warriors to respond.

“Which was an accident,” Louder admitted with a chuckle. “He just missed (the kick). It was not planned.

“We didn't score on it, but it turned the field position and we started holding them.”

The Warriors nearly squared the game in the fourth quarter after Andrew Armagost rumbled into the end zone with 7:02 remaining. However, a false start on the two-point conversion pushed Moniteau back 5 yards, before Brett Trithart broke up a pass from Geagan to Denny Pry and preserved a 28-27 Union edge.

“It was a good football game, a lot of fun. That's all you ask of your kids — just fight,” said Campbell. “They fought to the very end. That's why I coach, it's for this. ... They gave it everything they had. I'm proud of them. I'm proud of the way they've fought all season.”