UNION CITY - There's no denying the fact that Youngsville is a team on the rise.

But here's another football fact you can't deny - turnovers kill.

Youngsville committed three second quarter turnovers and Union City turned them all into touchdowns in an 18-6 Bears victory Friday at a muddy Union City High School.

Coming into the game with its first three-game winning streak since 2000, Youngsville appeared poised to make it four in a row with a quick start. After the teams went scoreless on their opening possessions, Rocco Gatta fielded a punt near midfield and returned it 28 yards to the Union City 24.

On the very next snap, quarterback Cory Craig made a perfect read on the option and raced untouched into the end zone to give Youngsville a 6-0 lead with 7:10 remaining in the first quarter. T.J. Hardy's extra point was blocked.

The game remained a 6-0 Eagles lead until the second quarter when the young Eagles started to revert back to their formerly sloppy ways.

Tailback Mike Gibson fumbled early in the second and Union City's Tyler Williams pounced on the loose ball. With excellent field position at the Eagles 29, it didn't take long for Union City's Jared Burger to find the end zone to knot things at 6-6.

Youngsville's next possession also ended in a turnover as the Bears' Jesse Vasquez made an excellent interception on an attempted Eagles screen pass. Vasquez was tackled at the 13 and two plays later, Burger scored his second touchdown of the quarter, this one from 10 yards out.

Burger would later add his third touchdown in a span of just over four minutes after yet another Eagles fumble was recovered by Union City at the Youngsville 29.

Union City rarely threatened the remainder of the contest and the one time they did, the freshman Gatta came up with a leaping interception inside the 10.

Mother Nature controlled much of the play in the second half as a light steady rain turned into a full blown monsoon. Both teams were held scoreless and in the second half and combined for under 100 total yards of offense.

The loss all but eliminates the Eagles from a Region 2 postseason berth, but the Eagles still have hopes of completing a .500 season, sitting at 3-5 with home games against Saegertown and Sheffield left on the schedule. The Eagles entertain the Panthers Friday at 7 p.m. at Mike Shine Field.

YoungsvilleUnion City

42Offensive plays 52

7First downs15

38-108Rushes-yards49-208

0Passing yards9

108Total yards217

4-0-1Pass-comp-int3-1-1

3-2Fumbles-lost2-1

11-65Penalties-yards9-55

Score by quarters

Youngsville 6 0 0 0 - 6

Union City 0 18 0 0 - 18

Scoring plays

First quarter

Y- Cory Craig 24 run, 7:10, kick blocked

Second quarter

U- Jared Burger 11 run, 10:51, run failed

U- Burger 10 run, 9:16, run failed

U- Burger 10 run, 6:46, kick failed

Individual leaders

RUSHING: Y- Mike Gibson 19 carries for 57 yards, Cory Craig 15 for 27, Jordan Gurdak 4 for 24; U-Jared Burger 25 for 117, 3 TD, Greg Reinke 10 for 58, Ryan Myers 13 for 30, Shane Rankin 1 for 3

PASSING: Y-Cory Craig 0 of 4 for 0, INT; U-Ryan Myers 1 of 2 for 9, INT, Robbie Hollis 0 of 1 for 0

RECEIVING: Y-None; U-Robbie Hollis 1 for 9