National Guard Recognizes Union

Originally Published: Feb 9, 2010 11:41 PM CDT

Bobby Lewis
Oklahoma Sports Reporter

TULSA, Oklahoma – Barely two months after beating Jenks to claim a fifth Class 6A state football title in the past decade, the Union Redskins earned another trophy Tuesday night.

At halftime of the Owasso-Union boys’ basketball game, MaxPreps, a nationwide high school football rankings company, and the National Guard, presented Union head coach Kirk Fridrich and his team with the National Ranking trophy, given annually to each of the top-50 high school programs in country.

“We’d like to think that our team’s more than just a bunch of trophies, but to be recognized and to see Union High School, and really the state of Oklahoma, be represented across the nation on the internet, it’s exciting for our kids,” said Fridrich.

Union finished the 2009 season with just one loss. The senior class posted a 39-3 record over the past three seasons. Those marks, and the computations from MaxPreps’ rankings system, boosted Union to the nation’s 44th-ranked team. The Redskins finished the 2008 season at the country’s 33rd-ranked squad.

“That’s a pretty neat deal for them to be recognized by those guys,” said Fridrich. “We’ve had a great group of kids.”

Oklahoma National Guard Sergeant Major Clinton Anderson presented the team with the trophy and t-shirts to commemorate Union’s accomplishment. The presentation comes as part of the National Guard’s 5th Annual Tour of Champions.