Things did not go Union’s way early in the game Friday night. The Titans, though, have a secret.
“We just started playing as a team. That’s why we call ourselves Union,” said senior linebacker Kyle Vermeulen.
That unity showed off in the second half. The Union defense shut out the Skyview Storm in the final two quarters, and Jack Bauer saved the offense with a huge performance, leading Union to a 21-17 victory at Kiggins Bowl to clinch second place in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League.
Union (8-1, 5-1 GSHL) will host a state preliminary round football game next week. Skyview (6-3, 4-2) will be on the road in Week 10.
Bauer rushed for 123 of his 137 yards in the second half and scored two touchdowns, including the game-winner with just less than five minutes left in the contest. The Titans outscored the Storm 14-0 in that decisive second half.
“If we would have lost home-field advantage in that first (playoff) game, that would have made us really upset,” Bauer said. “We had to pull it off. We really came together in that second half. We knew we had it in us.”
Union players and coaches recalled the first game of the season when the Titans rallied to beat Federal Way after a lackluster first-half performance.
Must be some magic at halftime, right?
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” Union coach Gary McGarvie said. “If I knew, we do that at the beginning of the game.”
Skyview outgained Union 310 to 38 in yards in the first half.
“All credit to Skyview. They kept us off the field. They completely dominated us in the first half,” McGarvie said.
“We flipped that around in the second half a little bit, didn’t we?” McGarvie asked.
Yes, the Titans did, outgaining Skyview 243-77 after the break.
“We just always have been this kind of team. Hard work and dedication,” Union linebacker Zack Lamirata said. “We think we are the hardest working team in the state. We have the determination. We came out in the second half with a different mindset.”
Skyview had the momentum, but not a real big lead.
Not in a game like this.
Skyview led 17-7 at the break, with Union’s lone touchdown coming after Vermeulen flipped the field position, intercepting a Skyview pass in the red zone and returning it 82 yards to put Union in the red zone.
On the next play, Caleb Browning had a touchdown to tie the game at 7 in the first quarter.
That was it for Union’s offense in the half.
Skyview had touchdown drives of 11 and 15 plays in the first half. Blake Ingram scored on a rushing touchdown and Marcus Lord caught a 20-yard scoring pass from Zac Shomler. Braden Hadfield also had a 30-yard field goal for the Storm in the half.
Josh Emmy wound up leading Skyview on the ground with 111 yards on 23 carries for the night. Shomler completed 17 of 25 passes for 223 yards. Jeremiah Wright caught nine passes for 98 yards for the Storm.
It was all Union in the second half, and the Titans were on the fortunate end of two decisions regarding fumbles.
Bauer’s first touchdown came only after a meeting of the officials. The ball had come loose and Skyview recovered in the end zone, but Bauer was ruled to have reached the end zone before the fumble.
Later, with Union trying to run out the clock with the four-point lead, the ball was loose again. Skyview recovered, but the Titans were ruled down before the fumble.
“We’re one of 32,” Skyview coach Steve Kizer said, referring to the playoffs, trying to stay positive after a tough loss. “It all starts again. A new season.”
As McGarvie credited Skyview with its first half, Kizer gave a shout-out to the Titans for their second half.
“They made some adjustments. They ran hard, played hard, and they didn’t beat themselves,” Kizer said.
Union gave Skyview some of its own medicine with a 14-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that took up five minutes of the fourth quarter. Bauer dove in to make it 21-17.
The Storm then had its best drive of the half, but lost the ball on a fumble. Union’s Alex Berfanger recovered at the 6-yard line with 3:19 to play. Union was able to run out the clock.
“We were worried,” Lamirata acknowledged. “But we did what we were taught. We did that, and we won.”
Union 21, Skyview 17
Union 7 0 7 7–21
Skyview 7 10 0 0–17
First quarter
Sky — Blake Ingram 2 run (Braden Hadfield kick)
U — Caleb Browning 2 run (Jonathan Granados kick)
Second quarter
Sky — Hadfield 30 FG
Sky — Marcus Lord 20 pass from Zac Shomler (Hadfield kick)
Third quarter
U — Jack Bauer 1 run (Granados kick)
Fourth quarter
U — Bauer 1 run (Granados kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING — Union: Browning 10-29, Alex Berfanger 8-58, Jack Bauer 25-137, Keithen Shepard 1-1, Jordan Lawson 2-(minus 12). Skyview: Josh Emmy 23-111, Ingram 10-54, Shomler 4-(minus 1).
PASSING — Union: Jordan Lawson 4-11-0-58, Tyler Dionne 0-1-0-0. Skyview: Shomler 17-25-1-223.
RECEIVING — Union: Keithen Shepard 3-51, Dionne 1-7. Skyview: Jeremiah Wright 9-98, Skyler Martin 1-9, Bryson Enge 6-96, Lord 1-20.
