KINDER — No. 4 Kinder nearly dug itself out of a big early deficit Friday night, but defending state champion No. 5 Union Parish held off the rally to win 44-14 in the Nonselect Division III quarterfinals.

Kinder (9-3) saw its five-game win streak come to an end. It was the Yellow Jackets’ first quarterfinal appearance since 2020. Union Parish (9-4) moved on to the semifinals for the sixth consecutive season.

“I thought we fought really hard there for a while,” Kinder head coach Justin Reed said. “And we did the best we could and eventually just kind of had a couple of breakdowns, but that happens in these types of games.

“So thankful for our seniors and the whole team in general and very proud of them.”

Down 21-0, Kinder got rolling with a big heads-up play by wide receiver Brandon Perkins. After collecting a short pass from Isaiah Thomas, Perkins pitched the ball to lineman Paxton Pierotti, who ran the final 14 yards to the end zone.

Kinder kept the momentum going, forcing Union Parish to punt and opened the second quarter with a huge 64-yard run by senior running back Logan Lebeouf, who finished with 174 yards on 22 carries.

On the ensuing kickoff, senior Bryson Bowring recovered a Union Parish fumble. But the Yellow Jackets chance at tying the game stalled in the red zone and they turned the ball over on downs. Kinder never regained that spark at the Farmers scored 23 unanswered points.

“We found a little momentum there at the end of the first quarter, early second quarter,” Reed said. “And then we had the fumble on the kickoff that gave us a little jolt there.

“And then not scoring there kind of hurt us and took some momentum from us. But credit to their defense. They did a good job against us all night, and they’re definitely a formidable opponent. They’re a really good football team. And I think that says more to the game than our lack of execution.”

Union Parish’s run game proved tough to stop as the Farmers scored all four of their first-half touchdowns on the group, including three by Tyquereis Wilson. His biggest was an 82-yarder with 7:10 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead after an 83-yarder was called back on a holding penalty. Wilson finished with 148 yards on 15 carries.

Derrick Dew scored on a 45-yard run in the first quarter and Union Parish quarterback Braxton Patterson added a 43-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. The Farmers ran for 281 yards and had 412 yards of total offense.

“They run the ball well,” Reed said. “They have good backs and a good offensive line. It’s hard to stop them for four quarters. They’re a really physical team.”