Union rallies to stun Puyallup, 38-31, in top-3 showdown

At a pivotal, potentially game-tying moment, Union quarterback Lincoln Victor floated a pass to the end zone, and it was intercepted. Puyallup would go on to capitalize by scoring to go up two touchdowns in the fourth quarter of a game that, up until that point, the Titans had not led.

No heads were hanging on the Titans sideline — not Victor, not anyone. Such attitude wouldn’t cut it were they to pull off the unlikely.

“We’re like, we just gotta not do that again, and we’re fine,” Titans coach Rory Rosenbach said.

That’s when the switch flipped. Top-ranked Union scored 21 unanswered points in the game’s last 6:35, capped by a one-yard punch-in by Nile Jones with 15 seconds left to upend No. 3 Puyallup at McKenzie Stadium on Friday night, 38-31, to advance to 5-0 on the season heading into league play.

“It was a great feeling,” senior running back Jojo Siofele said. “I can’t explain how proud I am of my team.”

Puyallup got the ball back with 15 seconds on the clock, but its last-ditch attempt was intercepted in the end zone by senior Aidan Hoyt.

Victor’s interception was a lone blemish on a spectacular night for the senior, who completed 24 of his 34 passes for 299 yards, two touchdowns and 29 yards rushing.

And on his lead, the Titans pieced together its final drive — 15 plays, 80 yards in 2:51 — to seal the game.

“O-line was great, we were dominating them,” Rosenbach said. “What was a two-yard gain was turning into a six-yard gain.”

Union gained 504 yards of total offense, amassed by big play after big play. First, Siofele caught a screen pass late in the first quarter, as Puyallup led 10-0, and without needing a block shot through a crowd of three defenders into open space for a 74-yard touchdown run.

“I just caught the ball, saw their safety, bounced out, made it happen, saw Dream (Alishawuan Taylor) and he made a great block, then I just cut up the field,” Siofele said. “I just did my job.”

Then there was Victor’s 38-yard strike to Darien Chase on the first play of the second quarter, who snagged the ball amid double coverage and lunged five yards for the end zone.

And then, perhaps most emphatically, there was Isaiah Jones. His 55-yard touchdown run to cut the lead to a touchdown with four minutes to play kept Union’s comeback efforts alive.

Puyallup tried to silence the comeback, but went three-and-out in its own territory. After Puyallup was flagged for a false start as the noise level from the stands was at a high, Rosenbach turned to the crowd, and pumped his arms up and down, calling upon the students section to up the noise. Union got the stop.

The scene after the game was nothing short of mayhem. The team ran over to its packed student section and to the beat of the blaring pep band, belted their fight song — “U-N-I-O-N, onto victory!” — in unison, in what mirrored the energy of a big-time playoff game.

“That’s a really good football team,” Rosenbach said of Puyallup. “They’ll be playing on Thanksgiving. Hopefully we are too, and we’ll get another shot at ’em.”

UNION 38, PUYALLUP 31

Puyallup 10 14 0 7—31

Union 7 10 0 21—38

First quarter

P — Carter Pierce FG

P — Kyle Cramer 1 run (Pierce kick)

U — Jojo Siofele 74 pass from Lincoln Victor (Christian Alcorn kick)

Second quarter

U — Darien Chase 38 pass from Victor (Alcorn kick)

P — Ethan Stewart 2 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)

P —Darius Morrison 5 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)

U — Alcorn 37 FG

Fourth quarter

P — Cramer 2 run (Pierce kick)

U — Siofele 7 run (Alcorn kick)

U — Isaiah Jones 55 run (Alcorn kick)

U — Nile Jones 2 run (Alcorn kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — Puyallup: Kyle Cramer 24-87, Jacob Holcomb 9-36, Ethan Stewart 3-7, Cohen Cheek 1-0. Union: Nile Jones 14-47, Jojo Siofele 9-45, Lincoln Victor 4-29, Isaiah Jones 4-84.

PASSING — Puyallup: Jacob Holcomb 16-26-1-155. Union: Lincoln Victor 24-34-1-299.

RECEIVING — Puyallup: Cohen Cheek 4-14, Darius Morrison 5-49, Justin Haase 4-42, Ethan Stewart 4-73. Union: Jojo Siofele 8-136, Darien Chase 9-80, Alex Vallejo 3-35, Jayden Picanco 1-7, Alishawuan Taylor 5-53.