Published: November 07, 2009 12:19 am         

Union downs Plainsmen

Trailing by just eight points at intermission, the Enid Plainsmen were right where they wanted to be in the regular season finale.

After a series of blowout losses to Tulsa Union, the Plainsmen were within reach of a huge upset victory at D. Bruce Selby Stadium.

But the defending state champion Redskins were having nothing of those hopes, dominating the third period en route to a 31-6 victory, their 14th straight over Enid.

The victory, which improved the Redskins to 9-1 overall and 7-0 in District 6A-4, extended Union’s league winning streak to a whopping 85 straight games.

The Plainsmen finished the regular season 6-4 overall and 4-3 in the district. Enid landed in third place in the league by virtue of Yukon’s victory over Choctaw.

Enid, Yukon and Stillwater technically finished in a tie for third place in the district but the Plainsmen earned third place with head-to-head victories over the Millers and Pioneers.

Now it’s on to the playoffs for the Plainsmen, who will travel to Broken Arrow next Friday for a first-round game. Broken Arrow finished second in District 6A-3 with a 45-28 victory over Bartlesville.

The Redskins used a strong third period to take control of Friday night’s game against the Plainsmen.

Cole Way booted a 23-yard field goal and Chase Boyce scored on a 4-yard run to put the Redskins up 24-6.

In the third period, Union rolled up 150 total yards on 24 plays. Enid ran just six plays, punted twice and gained 1 total yard.

“Union is a very fast, very physical football team in all three phases of the game,’’ said Enid offensive coordinator Dudley Darrow.

The Plainsmen opened up the playbook in an effort to gain yards against the Redskins. Several snaps went directly to tailback Jonathan Burton, including one he turned into a halfback pass that Donnie Fuston dropped on what would have been a huge gain in the fourth period. The Plainsmen also lined up in a Ninja set several times, spreading the line of scrimmage from sideline to sideline.

But nothing much worked.

Enid finished with just 48 yards rushing on 27 carries. Burton, who entered the game averaging 6.4 yards per carry, was held to 45 yards on 20 carries. Burton had just one carry that went for more than 10 yards.

The passing game was not effective either. Quarterback Alex Patterson completed only 5 of 15 passes for 95 yards, and 50 yards came on a pass play to Fuston.

The Redskins rolled up big chunks of offense on the ground and in the air. Led by Jarred Davis, who rushed for 123 yards, Union rumbled for 325 yards.

Boyce completed 14 of 21 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown as the Redskins compiled 25 first downs and 447 total yards.

Union had a chance to run up the score in the final seconds but chose to let the clock run out with the ball on the Enid 1 yard line.

“Their speed and depth are very good,’’ said Darrow. “Their offensive line is like a junior college O-line.’’

Union jumped on Enid in the first period, driving 64 yards on 10 plays on its first possession. Kale Pearson grabbed a 9-yard touchdown pass from Boyce to put the Redskins on the board.

After forcing a three-and-out, Union’s offense went back to business on its second possession, driving 84 yards in 11 plays to score again, this time on Boyce’s 15-yard run.

But the Plainsmen answered with their best drive of the game, driving 80 yards on 14 plays to get on the board on Burton’s 1-yard plunge. The drive included a 19-yard pass to Cody Lee, a 16-yard pass to Dillon Collums and a 15-yard run by Burton.

That drive amounted to much of Enid’s offense for the game. EHS perhaps scored a minor victory by forcing the defending state champions to keep their starters on the field for all but the final minute of the game.



TULSA UNION 31, ENID 6



UNION 14 0 10 7 - 31

ENID 0 6 0 0 - 6



SCORING SUMMARY

First quarter

Union - Kale Pearson 9 pass from Chase Boyce (Cole Way kick), 7:24.

Union - Boyce 15 run (Way kick), 1:52.

Second quarter

Enid - Jonathan Burton 1 run (kick failed), 8:51.

Third quarter

Union - Way 23 FG, 8:55.

Union - Boyce 4 run (Way kick), 2:28.

Fourth quarter

Union - Jarred Davis 11 run (Way kick), 3:31.



TEAM STATISTIC

UNION ENID

First downs 25 8

Rushing 49-325 27-48

Passing 122 95

C-A-I 14-21-0 5-16-0

Penalties 6-46 4-41

Punts 2-28 7-39

Fumbles 0-0 1-1