No. 4 Union made it four consecutive trips to the Class 4A state playoffs Friday night with a 42-14 victory over Curtis at McKenzie Stadium.
“This doesn’t get old,” said senior Caleb Browning, who ran for 134 yards and three touchdowns in the state preliminary game. “We came out tonight with a chip on our shoulder. None of us wanted this to be our last game.”
What is getting old is falling in the first round of state, which the Titans (9-1) have done in each of the past two seasons.
They will travel north to take on Federal Way (8-2), a 46-14 winner over Mariner, looking to buck that trend in a first-round contest next weekend.
“The difference this year is we are a lot more committed,” said senior lineman Tate Nelson, who had six tackles and a sack. “It’s not just a few of us. We’ve got the whole team in the boat this year.”
Friday’s game was a rematch of a Week 2 matchup the Titans dominated, 24-7.
While the score may indicate another Union rout, the Vikings (5-5) hung around for three quarters at McKenzie Stadium before the Titans seized control for good.
Union scored on the game’s first possession, going 70 yards in eight plays before Browning ran for a 24-yard touchdown.
The Titans forced a missed field goal late in the first quarter and quickly capitalized as Keithen Shepard turned a simple flare pass in the left flat into a 68-yard touchdown.
However, the Vikings did not falter. Pinned at their 1 late in the half, they needed less than a minute to go 99 yards, cutting the halftime deficit to 14-7 on a 7-yard scoring pass from Gage Ferguson to Nathaniel Wentz.
Playing a so-so first half was a scenario the Titans had seen play out before this season (including a Week 1 win at Federal Way), and coach Gary McGarvie was not worried.
“We didn’t to change a lot of things,” he said. “Everything was about execution, believing in our keys, our reads.”
Union limited Curtis to 76 yards of offense in the second half, and took control of the contest midway through the third quarter following a 42-yard punt return by Jack Bauer.
That set up the Titans up at the Curtis 18-yard line, and on their next play, Browning burst through another big hole created by Nelson and Zach Berfanger on the left side into the end zone for a 21-7 lead.
“I know I say this a lot, but whenever they do their job, it just makes my job a lot easier,” Browning said of the tackle-guard duo.
Union forced three-and-outs on each of Curtis’ next two drives, and each time converted short fields into touchdowns.
Bauer then recovered a Curtis fumble at the Vikings 44, and one play later, fullback Alex Berfanger rumbled for a touchdown and a 42-7 lead with 8:31 to play.
“We got into the locker room, and we got on each other a little bit,” Browning said. “We had each others’ backs. We regrouped, and helped each other out.”
Lawson, playing for the injured Nolan Henry for the third week in a row, finished 7 of 16 for 160 yards and a touchdown, and also ran for another score.
Tommy Strassenberg led the Titans’ defensive effort with nine tackles and a forced fumble.
