Union Holds Off Jenks Rally for Overtime Victory

By Scott Hansen

MaxPreps.com

TULSA, Okla. – Once again, 48 minutes were not enough to separate Oklahoma superpowers Tulsa Union and Jenks in the MidFirst Backyard Bowl. And for the second straight year, Union made pivotal plays in overtime to come away with a 24-17 victory over Jenks on Friday night at Union-Tuttle Stadium.

Union took the ball in the first possession of overtime and immediately turned to the now-proven combination of junior quarterback Chase Boyce and tight end Tracy Moore. Boyce hit Moore on a 4-yard gain before Oklahoma State commit Jeremy Smith took it from there. Smith plunged over the goal line on a 1-yard touchdown run to give Union the lead.

The Redskins turned to its defense to preserve the victory on its home turf. Jenks back-up quarterback Beau Marslan led the Trojans down to the 2-yard line in three plays on its overtime possession. On fourth down, Marslan was snowed under by a host of red shirts for a sack to end the game.

The backyard neighbors that have owned Class 6A football in Oklahoma didn’t spare the jam-packed crowd of 12,000 the dramatics this series has been accustomed to.

With Union cruising heading into the fourth quarter clinging to a 17-3 advantage, Jenks stormed back. Jenks struggled to 129 total yards in the first 30 minutes of the contest. Desperate for a spark on offense Jenks head coach Allen Trimble turned to Marslan, a junior quarterback playing at his third school in three years.

If there wasn’t a quarterback controversy in Jenks, America heading into the Backyard Bowl, there is now. In Marslan’s first Backyard Bowl series after replacing starter Zach Horn with 3:57 left in the third quarter, the move-in from Blackwell began to display the poise the Trojans needed to get back into the game.

Marslan completed a third down pass to tight end Tyler Ott for 10 yards into Union territory. Junior running back Colton Dost, who found yards hard to come by in the first three quarters, then reeled off runs of nine and 27 yards to move the ball down to the 6-yard line. From there, Union’s defense stepped up to stuff the Trojans on fourth down at the 1-yard line when Dost failed to cross the goal line on a screen pass from Marslan.

With 9:50 remaining in regulation, Marslan got another chance following a Union punt. On the first play of the possession, Marslan hit Tremaine Thompson on a 26-yard pass down to the Union 30-yard line. Eventually, another fourth down try stared Marslan in the face from the 16-yard line. Marslan coolly found Thompson for a 16-yard touchdown pass, his first of his budding Jenks career. Jenks missed the point after attempt, making it 17-9 in favor of the hosts.

Union drove down to the Jenks 42 in eight plays before committing its only turnover of the game. Boyce bobbled the center-quarterback exchange to give possession back to the Trojans with 3:02 remaining to play.

Marslan’s first two passes of the possession fell incomplete. On third down, Marslan scrambled for a 2-yard gain to face yet another fourth down. Marslan came through once again, finding Thompson streaking down the middle of the field for a 54-yard touchdown strike to bring the Trojans to within two with 2:00 remaining. On the two-point conversion try, Marslan eluded heavy Union pressure and dove across the goal line to tie the game.

On Union’s ensuing possession, Boyce and Moore hooked up on a 46-yard pass down to the 34-yard line to put the Redskins in business on the first play. Smith ripped off a pair of 4-yard runs before the Redskins drew the Jenks front line offsides for another first down. Union drove down to the 24-yard line and called a timeout with two seconds left to set up for a field goal.

Union coach Kirk Fridrich called upon senior Kevin Wallace to vault himself into hero status with his right foot. Wallace had plenty of leg on his field goal try, causing a roar amongst the Union faithful. What happened next is typical for a game between Union and Jenks. The pigskin clanged off the right upright and bounced helplessly onto the Union turf. Fate denied Union a field goal, so overtime loomed.

“It was an unbelievable game. What else do you say? You can watch the last five minutes and you don’t really need to watch the rest of it. I don’t how it happens,” said Fridrich, who moved to 2-1 over Jenks thus far in his Union career.

Union took control of the first half thanks to a stellar start from Boyce. Boyce completed his first five passes for 52 yards en route to 152 passing yards on 12-of-20 through the air. Smith found it tough sledding against the Jenks front line, rushing for 68 yards on 22 carries.

“We knew Jenks would have a great defense. They’re good every year. We’ll see them again down the road. We’ll see them again,” said Smith referring to a potential matchup with its rivals in the state playoffs.

The old adage is that big players play big in big games. Moore aptly fit the description, making 11 grabs for 148 yards for Union.

“We tried not to get all caught up in the hype. We play how we play. Our defense played its guts out,” said Moore. “This may not have been my best game ever, but it sure feels like it.”

Thomas Roberson took a reverse 47 yards for a touchdown just 2:30 into the game to put Union on the scoreboard. With 2:14, Boyce scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak to make it 14-0.

For Jenks, Marslan finished by going 6-of-12 for 114 yards, including his two touchdown passes to Thompson. Thompson finished with 103 receiving yards on four catches. Dost led Jenks on the ground with a game-high 79 yards on 17 carries. Running back Grant Goodwin was injured in the first half for the Trojans to hamper their running game.

Marslan was impressive, according to Trimble.

“Beau made a great effort tonight. I was proud of him," Trimble said. "It was a good sign that he was poised, ready, and waiting for his chance. That’s all you can ask.”

As for Jenks’ effort, Trimble saw some encouraging things despite the loss. “I was really proud of our effort. We played hard and had tremendous effort. We had a chance to win, but just didn’t get it done tonight.”

“These close games are awesome for the fans. But they bring me one step closer to a heart-attack. We learn a lot about ourselves in close games like this,” Trimble said.

When addressing his team after the game, Fridrich’s message was short and sweet while holding the Backyard Bowl trophy in his hand.

“It’s the right color, but it’s the wrong one,” he said, referring to the coveted gold ball given to the winner of the state championship.

Tulsa Union 24, Jenks 17 (OT)

Scoring Summary

Union- Thomas Roberson 47 run (Kevin Wallace kick), 9:30 (1st)

Union- Chase Boyce 1 run (Way kick), 2:14 (1st)

Jenks- Cody Mumma 27 field goal, 2:14 (2nd)

Union- Kevin Wallace 26 field goal, 6:41 (3rd)

Jenks- Tremaine Thompson 16 pass from Beau Marslan (kick failed), 7:32 (4th)

Jenks- Thompson 54 pass from Marslan, 2:00 (4th)

Union- Jeremy Smith 1 run (Wallace kick), Overtime

Individual Statistics

Passing

Jenks- Beau Marslan 6-12, 114 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; Zach Horn 6-15, 73 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT.

Union- Chase Boyce 12-20, 152 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs.

Rushing

Jenks- Colton Dost 17-79, Tremaine Thompson 2-19, Grant Goodwin 3-8, Marslan 3-minus 4; Horn 4-minus 5.

Union- Jeremy Smith 22-68, Thomas Roberson 1-47, Chase Boyce 15-36, James Roberson 1-minus 6.

Receiving

Jenks- Tremaine Thompson 4-103, Tyler Ott 3-49, Grant Goodwin 1-11, Austin Laskey 1-11, Brian Johnston 1-5, Colton Dost 1-4, Dylan Kubala 1-4.

Union- Tracy Moore 11-148, Thomas Roberson 1-4.