Skyview tops Union to clinch playoff berth

The Skyview Storm could have taken a knee, regrouped.

It could have been a tie game at the half Friday night at McKenzie Stadium.

But there were 46 seconds remaining, and the Storm were playing for a playoff berth.

They weren’t going to waste 46 seconds, they were going to seize those seconds.

The Storm went 84 yards in just 40 seconds, scoring on a Brody Barnum touchdown pass to Tavis Pinkney to take the lead for good just before the half.

That aggressive approach has made the the Skyview Storm a playoff team once again.

Skyview (5-3) took care of Union 43-28 to improve to 2-1 in the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League. The Storm clinched the second and final playoff berth from the five-team league, and they secured their 12th consecutive trip to the postseason.

“Tradition,” Barnum said. “We knew coming into this game how big it was and the legacy of Skyview football. We had to continue it. Everyone played like this was a playoff game, and we showed it.”

“It’s just phenomenal,” said Skyview wide receiver Jeremiah Wright, who had 129 yards receiving and two touchdowns. “It’s our tradition. Lots of pressure, but we were able to handle it.”

The Storm put a lot of pressure on themselves at the end of the first half.

Union had gone 80 yards on 10 plays to tie the game with 54 seconds left in the half.

Then Skyview got the ball after the kickoff on its 16-yard line.

“No discussion,” Barnum said of taking a knee. “We knew exactly what we wanted to do. We knew the only reason we were stopped was by our own mistakes.”

Barnum had a 21-yard run, then two passes to get to the Union 25-yard line. After an incomplete pass, he found Tavis Pinkney, who made a tough adjustment to the ball, caught it and fell into the end zone for a 21-14 lead.

“What a great series of events for our offense,” Skyview coach Steve Kizer said. “That was the best drive of the year. And crucial, too. Union was fired up.”

But that drive was more than just a drive. It gave the Storm an adrenaline rush in the locker room. Plus, they had the ball to start the second half.

“We were definitely excited,” Barnum said. “We knew we couldn’t be stopped now. Might as well finish it and close it out strong.”

Barnum capped a seven-play drive to start the third quarter with a 13-yard run to make it 29-14.

“We knew it would be great if we could score there and go up by two scores,” Kizer said.

Barnum would finish with 278 yards passing and four touchdowns, plus he rushed for two.

Wright had his break-out game of the season, catching a 58-yard touchdown pass to make it 36-14 in the third quarter. Then, after Union scored a TD, Wright was in the end zone again, this time on a 13-yard pass from Barnum.

Union scored on the opening possession of the game, with quarterback Lincoln Victor finding Keithen Shepard for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Victor would end up rushing for a game-high 137 yards for the Titans. Tommy Strassenberg scored two rushing TDs for the Titans.

The Storm, though, used a more balanced attack, rushing for 198 yards to go with Barnum’s air attack.
Skyview senior Skyler Martin said the Storm expected to win, but they also were relieved to have accomplished this goal of going beyond the regular season.

“We knew it was do-or-die,” he said of this game. “We didn’t want to be in a three-team (tiebreaker) again. We just had to take care of it.”

A year ago, the Storm had to survive a tiebreaker to make it to Week 10 and beyond.

Not the case this year.

The Storm were not going to settle this season.

Not for a tie at halftime.

Not for a loss in the biggest game of the year.

The Storm went for the win early and kept the pressure on the Titans late. Now, they get to play into November.

SKYVIEW 43, UNION 28
Skyview    0    21    22    0—43
Union    7    7    7    7—28
First quarter
U — Keithen Shepard 23 pass from Lincoln Victor (Connor Culp kick)
Second quarter
Sky —Angelo Sarchi 16 pass from Brody Barnum (pass failed)
Sky — Barnum 4 run (Dyvon Green run)
U — Tommy Strassenberg 3 run (Culp kick)
Sky — Tavis Pinkney 25 pass from Barnum (Wyatt Stallman kick)
Third quarter
Sky — Barnum 13 run (Max Rose run)
U — Strassenberg 1 run (Culp kick)
Sky — Jeremiah Wright 57 pass from Barnum (Stallman kick)
Sky — Wright 13 pass from Barnum (Stallman kick)
Fourth quarter
U — Braedon Ensley 7 run (Culp kick)

Individual statistics
RUSHING — Skyview: Hayden Froeber 8-35, Barnum 15-68, Sarchi 6-38, Green 6-53, James Millspaugh 3-8, Team 2-(minus 4). Union: Strassenberg 9-40, Abe Smith 10-47, Victor 16-137, Braedon Ensley 5-34, Elijah Jones 3-19, Team 1-(minus 1).
PASSING — Skyview: Barnum 16-24-0-278. Union: Victor 7-13-1-79
RECEIVING — Skyivew: Wright 7-129, Cole Grossman 4-85, Sarchi 1-16, Pinkney 3-46, Froeber 1-2. Union: Shepard 5-66, Kai Gamble 1-6, Ensley 1-7.