Union upends Puyallup late again – this time ending the Vikings’ season in the 4A state semifinals
The Puyallup High School football team took a long bus ride home from McKenzie Stadium earlier this fall. But, after watching their season slip away in the Class 4A state semifinals, the road back might seem longer this time.
Back in September, the Vikings squandered away a fourth-quarter lead to Union — which has been the classification’s top-ranked team wire-to-wire this season — at this site.
Saturday afternoon, fifth-seeded Puyallup again carried a lead into the final period, only to have the top-seeded Titans (13-0) rally again, and score three unanswered touchdowns in the second half to win, 35-28, and end the Vikings’ season just short of the Tacoma Dome.
Union quarterback Lincoln Victor, who has Division I offers from five schools, showed off his speed late, beating several defenders to the edge, and scurrying 16 yards into the end zone for the decisive score with two minutes, 52 seconds remaining.
The Vikings (11-2) couldn’t respond on the ensuing drive, never crossing midfield. Union linebacker Pierce Henriksbo sacked Puyallup quarterback Jacob Holcomb on fourth-and-26 with 32 seconds left to seal the win.
Victor took a knee to end the game, and Puyallup’s players and coaches somberly walked away from the stadium. Holcomb, the 4A SPSL MVP, helmet still on, buried his head as he embraced his coach, and the Vikings tearfully met in the opposing locker room before boarding their bus.
“We didn’t talk much about the game,” Puyallup coach Gary Jeffers said. “We just talked about our experience together, and that we’re always a family, and how sad it is when it comes to an end. It’s just hard, when you’ve spent as much time together as we have, when it suddenly comes to an end.
“We just focused on healing and taking care of each other, and letting each other know we love each other, and we’re a family, and we’re going to move forward with that.”
Union scored a pair of long touchdowns in the first half, and took an early 7-0 lead on the game’s opening possession. Victor hit JoJo Siofele in the flat just over four minutes in, and the bruising running back did the rest, spinning off of a tackler for a 70-yard touchdown.
Victor later connected with Alec Jackson on a 45-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Jackson, again, forced a Puyallup defender to miss.
“The athletes that are making those plays for Union are phenomenal athletes,” Jeffers said. “Any time you’re in a one-on-one situation with one of those kids, you are at risk of it not going your way. They’re super good.
“We needed to team tackle, we needed to team rally to the ball to make sure we had multiple people around the ball, and there were a couple of times that didn’t happen. They broke tackles and made big plays.”
But, the Vikings scored three times in between, took a 21-14 lead into the break, and held on most of the way.
Puyallup scored on each of its first three drives, first on a 7-yard run by Kyle Cramer, then a 17-yard pass from Holcomb to Haase, who hauled in a jump ball over a defender who was flagged for interference.
Holcomb — who led the Vikings in passing (18 of 30, 206 yards) and rushing (12 carries , 91 yards), and scored three total touchdowns — broke loose for a 42-yard score.
The Vikings took another two-possession lead to open the third quarter, when Holcomb found Haase again for a 33-yard score. But, Union responded immediately when Victor and Jackson connected for the second time for 19 yards.
Puyallup held its 28-21 lead until there was 7:12 remaining in the fourth. After forcing a quick three-and-out, the Titans marched down the field, and Nile Jones punched in a 2-yard touchdown to tie the game.
Another three-and-out by Puyallup gave Union the ball back with just under six minutes to go, and a crucial third-down connection between Victor and Alex Vallejo (24 yards) and a long scamper by Siofele (22 yards) set up Victor’s decisive score.
Victor finished 15 of 19 passing for 280 yards and an interception, led the Titans with 14 carries for 82 yards, and scored the four total touchdowns. Siofele complemented him with 12 carries for 78 yards, and led Union with six catches for 107 yards. Union played much of the game without Nebraska commit Darien Chase, who sustained an abdominal injury on the first play of the opening drive.
“Offensively, we got a little bit out of rhythm, and left our defense on the field too long with the stable of athletes that they have,” Jeffers said. “Every snap that they have, it’s more opportunity for them to put points on the board. We needed to keep them off the field by possessing the ball.”
But, the Vikings — who also lost the early-season tilt to Union by a touchdown — just couldn’t hold on for long enough.
“It was kind of the same as last time,” Union coach Rory Rosenbach said. “They hit some plays early. Our goal was make them drive the field. Don’t give them big plays. We gave them some big plays, that’s when they got up. But, when we made them chunk and chunk, eventually they sputtered.”
There is a widely shared opinion that Puyallup’s No. 5 seeding was low — the Vikings won back-to-back undefeated 4A SPSL titles, and have just the two losses to Union in Vancouver this season by a combined 14 points — and this game could have been played in Tacoma next week.
“It’s such a great team over there,” Victor said. “Honestly, the top two teams, we just played in the bracket. It’s always tough to end people’s season. Hats off to them.
“They’re such a great team, so well coached, so disciplined. It’s like looking in the mirror when we play them. But, we had a good week of practice and prepared for everything that would come at us.”
Jeffers said the toughest part of the loss is the season coming to an end, and Puyallup didn’t spend much time being concerned about having to make a second trip to Vancouver this season, to play in a semifinal at a non-neutral site.
“We’re a good enough football team to go into any venue and be successful if we take care of business,” he said. “We didn’t spend a bunch of time being upset about where it was, or who it was, we just knew we had to go play.”
Union will play the winner of Lake Stevens-Woodinville in the Tacoma Dome next week. Puyallup, which was seeking its first title-game berth since 1992, will have to wait another year for its next shot.
“Super enjoyable group of young men,” Jeffers said. “I love them like they’re my sons. We are family. We’ve been close the whole way through. It’s been an awesome experience, and the way this game ended isn’t going to taint that experience.
“It’s disappointing and it’s sad, and we’d like to be able to continue, but it does not take the shine off of a fabulous season.”
NO. 5 PUYALLUP | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | — | 28 |
NO. 1 UNION | 7 | 7 | 7 | 14 | — | 35 |
U – JoJo Siofele 70 pass from Lincoln Victor (Christian Alcorn kick)
P – Kyle Cramer 7 run (Carter Pierce kick)
P – Justin Haase 17 pass from Jacob Holcomb (Pierce kick)
P – Holcomb 42 run (Pierce kick)
U – Alec Jackson 45 pass from Victor (Alex Koga kick)
P – Haase 33 pass from Holcomb (Pierce kick)
U – Jackson 19 pass from Victor (Alcorn kick)
U – Nile Jones 2 run (Koga kick)
U – Victor 16 run (Koga kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing: P – Holcomb 18-30-0-206; Darius Morrison 0-1-0-0. U – Victor 15-19-1-280.
Rushing: P – Holcomb 12-91; Cramer 19-85; Haase 1-3. U – Victor 14-82; Siofele 12-78; Jones 10-49; Isaiah Jones 3-4; Darien Chase 1-(-6).
Receiving: P – Haase 5-87; Morrison 6-59; Ethan Steward 2-32; Kyler Johnson 3-20; Cramer 2-8. U – Siofele 6-107; Jackson 3-79; Alex Vallejo 4-70; Alishawuan Taylor 2-24.
This story was originally published November 24, 2018 at 6:31 PM.
