Titans and Papermakers to meet next week for Class 4A Greater St. Helens League title
VANCOUVER — The Union Titans are going back to the playoffs, and they got there by ending another team’s playoff run.
Lincoln Victor, as in Victory, was just too much for the Skyview Storm to handle Friday night at Kiggins Bowl.
Victor, Union’s quarterback, threw for 273 yards and three touchdowns plus he rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns as the Titans stunned Skyview 43-14 in a key Class 4A Greater St. Helens League football game.
Union, 7-1 overall and 3-0 in league, will face 8-0 Camas next week for the league championship. The winner will get the top seed from the league to the playoffs. The loser of that one will still go to the playoffs.
And Skyview saw its playoff run end after 12 consecutive seasons.
Victor had a whole lot to do with everything that went down at Kiggins Bowl.
“”It wasn’t just for me. It was for the whole Union community, our family, our brothers, everybody,” Victor said. “So hard to explain this feeling, what this game means to us. This was a playoff game. And once we got here, we just had to do work.”
“I don’t know how to explain it,” said Union’s Joshua Joo, who had one of the top defensive plays of the game Friday. “It’s just amazing.”
Union coach Rory Rosenbach said he was just happy his players could see the fruits of their labor all the way back from the offseason.
“I’m just really proud of our kids and coaches. I don’t think a lot of people thought we could do this,” Rosenbach said. “Our guys just believed and trusted what we were selling them.”
The Storm had two chances to get back in this game. The Union defense said no way, and then the offense ended any doubts as to the best team this night.
Union had a 15-0 lead but Skyview had first down from the 1-yard line. Four running plays challenged the Titans, and the Titans answered every challenge, stuffing the Skyview ball carriers.
The Titans took over at their own 2-yard line. One play later, it was 22-0 after Victor found Darien Chase for a 98-yard touchdown pass.
“We had single coverage, one on one,” Chase explained. “We said, ‘If it’s like that, we’ll take a shot.’ We took a shot, and it ended up working.
“It was a great pass, hit me right in stride, put me in position to score. Couldn’t have been any better.”
Victor said it makes life easier on him throwing the ball to Chase.
“If it’s one-on-one with Darien Chase, against anyone in the state, I’m taking that,” Victor said. “It’s a 95-percent chance he’ll come down with it.”
Skyview would score on the final play of the first half for a bit of momentum. Cole Grossman caught an 8-yard TD pass from Max Rose. The Storm also got the ball first in the third quarter. A score there could have turned the game.
Instead, Joo made sure it was all Union.
Joo intercepted a Skyview pass on the second play of the second half and returned it 43 yards to the 1-yard line. Victor scored on the next play for a 29-7 lead.
“All gas, no brakes,” Joo said of the defensive philosophy going into that pivotal drive. “Kill off their hope.”
It did just that.
Chase got an interception in the end zone on the next drive, and Union would go 80 yards on nine plays to make it 36-7 on a 13-yard touchdown run from Victor with 3:52 left in the third quarter.
From there, it was a Union celebration on Skyview’s home field.
Chase capped Union’s scoring with a 42-yard pass from Victor. Chase finished with five receptions for 175 yards.
Skyview would get a late touchdown run by Dyvon Green as the Storm were playing for pride in those final minutes.
Union was able to run out the clock from there, celebrate its playoff berth, and start thinking about Camas.
“Another effort like this tonight, we can win it,” Chase said.
UNION 43, SKYVIEW 14
Union 15 7 14 7 — 43
Skyview 0 7 0 7 — 14
First quarter
U – Alishawuan Taylor 19 pass from Lincoln Victor (Alex Koga kick)
U – Victor 9 run (Aiden Nellor pass from Dustin Nettles)
Second quarter
U – Darien Chase 98 pass from Victor (Koga kick)
S – Cole Grossman 8 pass from Max Rose (Wyatt Stallman kick)
Third quarter
U – Victor 1 run (Koga kick)
U – Victor 13 run (Koga kick)
Fourth quarter
U – Chase 42 pass from Victor (koga kick)
S – Dyvon Green 3 run (Stallman kick)
Individual statistics
RUSHING: Union — Jojo Siofele 11-45, Elijah Jones 11-24, Victor 14-115, Nettles 4-41, Jack Eggleston 3-4. Skyview — Jalynnee McGee 14-112, Rose 5-21, Green 7-3.
PASSING: Union — Victor 12-16-0-273, Carter Sutton 0-1-0-0. Skyview — Rose 19-29-3-236.
RECEIVING: Union — Siofele 1-9, Nettles 2-22, Chase 5-175, Taylor 1-19, Nellor 2-42, Jones 1-6. Skyview — McGee 2-5, Stallman 2-37, Tavis Pinkney 10-140, Grossman 4-44, Jovon Sewell 1-10.
Week 8 scores
| Team | Score | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camas | 34 | Sunnyside | 19 |
| Heritage | 28 | Battle Ground | 21 |
| Union | 43 | Skyview | 14 |
| Kelso | 14 | Evergreen | 7 |
| Mountain View | 49 | Prairie | 10 |
| Hudson’s Bay | 54 | Fort Vancouver | 0 |
| Hockinson | 56 | Hoquiam | 3 |
| Columbia River | 53 | Mark Morris | 32 |
| Washougal | 17 | R.A. Long | 15 |
| Woodland | 40 | Ridgefield | 16 |
| La Center | 42 | White Salmon | 0 |
| Stevenson | 27 | King’s Way Christian | 18 |
