Day After Report: Union 43, Mountain View 18
The Union Titans said that this was not going to be a yearly thing, losing to Mountain View. Once was enough.
A year ago, the Thunder tied for second place in the 4A Greater St. Helens League, beating Union along the way. It was the first victory for the Thunder over the Titans.
It was not a good day to be a Titan that night in 2015.
Some players said they took it personally, and promised to make things right in 2016.
The Titans did just that with a 24-0 second half.
Few more defensive names: I noted the stellar play of defensive end Aiden Nellor in the game story, as well as the two interceptions from Keithen Shepard.
I should also note that Adrian Andrade also had a strong night from his linebacker position, including a tackle for loss. JR Finch had a sack, as well. So did Austin Lewis.
Then there was the passing defense that excelled for the Titans. Mountain View passed for 130 yards in the first half. Mountain View passed for 0 yards in the second half. That’s a team thing, there, with a strong pass rush, and quality coverage from linebackers and defensive backs. The Thunder passing attack went 0 for 9 with an interception in the second half.
Two quarterbacks: Union coach Rory Rosenbach said no one should read into the fact that Lincoln Victor played most of Friday’s game at quarterback. Nehru Faalevao started the game at QB, but Victor came in early in the first quarter.
The plan is to rotate the two, but Rosenbach said on this night, he wanted to stick with the hot hand. Plus, Faalevao was needed more on defense, to slow Mountain View’s passing game.
“They’re still 1A and 1B,” the coach said.
Still two No. 1 quarterbacks at Union.
Featured in your favorite Southwest Washington daily newspaper: Hope you got a chance to read our story on superb sophomores Darien Chase of Mountain View and JoJo Siofele of Union in Friday morning’s paper. Unfortunately, the two friends did not face each other on the field Friday night.
Siofele, who was still hoping he would be able to play when interviews for the story were conducted, did not play due to an injured knee. Nothing yet official on his status going forward, but he is out indefinitely.
Chase, meanwhile, showed why there is so much buzz around his play. He made several “Wow” catches and finished with six receptions for 130 yards and a touchdown.
Fooled me: The Titans had a big lead. They had the ball, driving in the fourth quarter. At times, it seemed like they were taking their time, you know, to drain the clock. Then they would go with a quick snap.
If the Titans wanted to fool the Thunder, well, it might have worked.
If the Titans wanted to fool me, well, it definitely worked. I wasn’t ready with my camera. So my apologies to Braedon Ensley. He had a great TD run that I did not capture on video.
I will try to get better, but please remember, my on-deadline story for print is priority. My stats are high on my list of things to do, as well. And updates on Twitter. So video is cool, but, yeah, I’m going to miss some things.
It’s more fun to read about it anyway, right? 🙂
Thunder punter made quite the play: Things did not go well for Mountain View in the second half, but the Thunder did have a player who showcased the never-say-die attitude of a football player.
Alex Ferruzca, the punter, suffered through two high snaps during the game. The one in the second half sailed over his head and rolled 15 yards behind him. He ran back, scooped up the ball, took a hit from a Union defender, stayed on his feet, then found room to punt the ball.
