PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- UPIKE takes its undefeated divisional record on the road for a pivotal matchup at Union at 1:37 p.m. ET on Saturday in Barbourville, Ky. The Bears are one of two teams without a loss in the Mid-South Conference East Division, while all other teams have at least two.

Every game becomes important the rest of the way as UPIKE looks to challenge for its first MSC Championship and make its case to enter the NAIA Top 25.

Saturday's game is being televised by WYMT on its ThisTV channel, as well as streamed at WYMT.com. It can also be heard on Z1075 FM locally in Pikeville.

• UPIKE has won three straight games in Mid-South Conference East Division play for the first time since 2004. That team went on to post a program-best 5-0 start in divisional play. The last three contests this season - all divisional games - became huge for the Bears after protecting their home field with a 31-7 win over Cumberlands last week. Now, UPIKE and Georgetown are the only unde- feated teams left in the East, putting each in the driver's seat to fight toward a berth into the NAIA Championship Series. But first, UPIKE must get past a Union team that it hasn't lost to since 2012. The Bulldogs are much improved from the last two 1-9 campaigns, as evident by their 3-1 start. But like all the East Division teams, injuries have taken their toll, leading way to a current four-game losing streak.
• The Bears had a complete performance last Saturday, including everywhere from the de- fense, running backs, to the offensive line. Jamar Kirksey rushed for 128 yards on three carries with a career-high three touchdowns, helping him earn MSC East Offensive Player of the Week. The offensive line played nearly error free and was back at full strength, helping the Bears outgain Cumberlands 235-109 on the ground. And the defense, it was great for a second straight week, holding the Patriots 174 yards under their NAIA fifth-best rushing average and limiting them to just seven points. In fact, the UPIKE defense has allowed seven total points in the last two weeks.
• Tough luck for Union in its 21-14 loss at Kentucky Christian last week. For the Knights to grab their first win of the season, they needed Emmett Key's 98-yard interception return for a touchdown, turning what looked to be a scoring drive to put Union up 21-7, into a tie game with eight minutes to play. Six minutes later, KCU came up with another huge interception, setting it up on Union's side of the field for the go-ahead score. Izayah Riettie paced Union rushing with 47 yards and Victor Garth finished with 61 yards through the air.
• Jack Hopkins putting together a strong finish to his senior campaign and moving up the re- cord books. The Maryland native currently ranks 11th in program history with 170 tackles, passing Taylor Woods with 169 last week. Hopkins is 10th all time in solo stops with 110.
• His nickname is Flex, but Pick may be more accurate as junior Romon Morris added the first pick six of his career on Saturday. The 58-yard return was on his sixth career interception, which puts him eighth on UPIKE's all-time list. He's also wreaked havoc on opposing quarterbacks, break- ing up 16 passes in his career, which is the sixth best in UPIKE history. Larry Forester, who played from 2001-04, holds the record with 24. Led by Morris, the UPIKE defense ranks fourth nationally, allowing just 140.8 passing yards per game.
• Notable players on offense making a mark on the record books include Jamar Kirksey and his 965 career rushing yards which ranks seventh and his 12 touchdowns, which are also the seventh most for the Bears. Austin Pray is 10th all time with 48 receptions and Damir Karapandzic is sixth in scoring with 147 points.

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