BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - No. 18 Union College posted a 31-0 victory over visiting West Virginia Tech Saturday in Mid-South Conference East play, giving the Bulldogs their first shutout win since the 1993 season.

Union (3-2 overall, 2-1 MSC East) had gone 169 games since its last blanking of an opponent. When the Bulldogs defeated Tennessee Wesleyan College 30-0 in the 1993 season opener, most of the current Union players were not even in kindergartner yet.

"Tremendous job by our defense today," said Union coach Tommy Reid. "I am really excited by their effort."

The Bulldogs outgained the Bears 533-118 in total offense. Union passed for 417 yards and ran for 116 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Mike Brinkley (Anthony, Fla.) played only the first three quarters but still passed for 328 yards and two scores on 23-of-34 passing. He also ran for 46 yards and a score on 10 carries.

"Mike did a good job for us. He mad really good decisions and managed the game well," said Reid. "He continues to get better and smarter each week he's out there. Mike was able to run the ball when we needed him to today.

"When Mike plays well, our offense plays well. He just did a good job."

Demetrius Davis (Marietta, Ga.) hauled in a season-high seven passes for 111 yards and score, while Ben Kelly (Cold Spring, Ky.) caught five passes for 79 yards. Backup quarterback Bryant Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) completed 4-of-5 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.

The Bulldog defense held the Bears to 30 yards rushing on 25 carries. Branden Little led the way with 35 yards on eight carries. Michael Scott completed 9-of-19 passes for 71 yards.

With the loss, West Virginia Tech dropped to 2-3 overall and 0-3 in conference play. Since winning their first two games of the year by a combined score of 110-77, the Bears have scored only six points in the last three games and were shutout twice.

Although it had 28 minutes and three seconds in time of possession, West Virginia Tech struggled to move the ball. The Bears went three-and-out three times as their longest possession lasted just seven plays. West Virginia Tech had three possessions go six plays, but all but two possessions ended in a punt. One was halted by a Bert Brown (Daytona, Fla.) interception, while the Bears turned the ball over on downs on the other possession.

David Callison was busy as the Bears' punter, booting the ball a total of nine times for 297 yards, an average of 33.0 yards per punt.

Both teams had decent field position all day long. West Virginia Tech averaged starting its drives on its own 32, while Union's average starting spot was its own 33. However, the Bears never made it to the red zone as the farthest they got was the Bulldog 32.

The Bulldogs scored on their opening possession as Brinkley hit P.J. Burrowes (Middlesboro, Ky.) for an 11-yard scoring pass. Union covered 80 yards in seven plays to take a 7-0 lead with 10:33 left in the first.

After a Chad Boyington (Stockbridge, Ga.) 34-yard field made it 10-0 early in the second quarter, Union mounted a five-play, 46-yard drive to up the margin to 17-0. Brinkley caught everyone off guard and scampered 22 yards untouched for a touchdown. After the PAT, Union led 17-0 with 3:40 left in the first half.

With 10:59 to go in the third, Brinkley hit a wide-open Davis for a 42-yard scoring play to stretch the margin to 24-0.

Union capped the scoring in the fourth as Thomas hooked up with Chandler Priest (Loganville, Ga.) for an 18-yard scoring play at the 14:10 mark. Boyington's PAT made it 31-0. The touchdown was a career first for both Thomas and Priest.

Despite a dominant effort by the Bulldog defense, no one stood head and shoulders of the rest individually for Union. Armondo Thomas (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Denzel Hinton (Rock Hill, S.C.) led the team with each making five total stops, while Arthur Johnson (New Smyrna Beach, Fla.), Josh Presley (Sweetwater, Tenn.) and Khambrel Simpkins (Lauderhill, Fla.) each had four total tackles.

William Roundtree (Ocala, Fla.) had two tackles for a loss of 15 yards including a sack, while Brown had three total stops to go along with his interception.

Union returns to action Saturday when it will travel to Williamsburg, Ky., face University of the Cumberlands (KY.) in another key conference battle. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.

Bulldog Notes

• Mike Brinkley was one yard shy of tying his career high in passing yards. He threw for 329 yards in a 37-34 win at UVA-Wise on Nov. 1, 2008. This was the fourth 300-yard passing game in his career and third this season.
• Brinkley's 46 rushing yards are a career high. His previous best was 39 against UVa-Wise on Sept. 5, 2009, in a 57-7 victory.
• Ben Kelly is now 11th on the all-time receiving list with 84 career catches for 745 yards. He needs two more receptions to surpass Jim Maynor for 10th all-time.
• This was only the sixth shutout in the modern era (since 1985) of Bulldog football. From 1905-41, Union recorded 45 shutouts, making the program total now stand at 51.
• In the past two games, Demetrius Davis has caught 13 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
• This was the third time this year Union has amass over 500 yards in total offense. Not surprisingly, Union won all three of those games.