Titans plug holes in lineup as Union beats Battle Ground 45-6

Senior team captain Therman Bibens is the do-everything linebacker for the Union Titans.

On Tuesday, he added something new to his varsity resume.

When Union’s regular kicker was unavailable Tuesday, Bibens was called on to do the kicking on kickoffs and PAT kicks.

“I kicked a long time ago, and this is my first time kicking (on varsity) today,” Bibens said. “They actually told me yesterday. The last time I kicked was probably freshman year. … It was fun. It was pretty good. I got some good kicks.”

With the quick turnaround of a Tuesday game, Union was filling a lot holes in its lineup, but the Titans still had plenty to post a 45-6 win over Battle Ground.

“We were plugging holes,” Union coach Rory Rosenbach said. “But the guys did a good job. I was proud of them.”

With leading receivers Tobias Merriweather and Jake Bowen on the sidelines, quarterback Alex Gehrmann had to find other targets. But still managed to throw for 198 yards with touchdown passes to senior Cole Rebman and juniors Korey Bozovich and Marques Cantu.

Rebman finished with six catches for 94 yards and Vinh Luong rushed for 112 yards and a touchdown.

But it was also a good night for the younger guys. Junior Liam Boyce returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown, and junior Jaydon Jones and sophomore Tyler Fuehrer rushed for second-half scores.

“It was good to get the younger guys in because they’re going to be playing again in four months,” Bibens said. “They’ve got to get some time on the field and keep the program going.”

UNION 45, BATTLE GROUND 6

BGround 0 0              0              6—6

Union    0              26           19           0—45

Second quarter

U – Korey Bozovich 10 pass from Alex Gehrmann (run failed)

U – Liam Boyce 35 interception return (Therman Bibens kick)

U – Cole Rebman 15 pass from Gehrmann (kick blocked)

U – Marques Cantu 30 pass from Gehrmann (Jacob Hall kick)

Third quarter

U – Vinh Luong 37 run (Hall kick)

U – Jaydon Jones 15 run (kick failed)

U – Tyson Fuehrer 3 run (kick failed)

Fourth quarter

BG – Leithan Reynolds 22 run (pass failed)

Individual statistics

RUSHING – Battle Ground: Reynolds 15-60, Reid Schneider 5-46, Owen Wann 2-3, Reid Davis 1-(-1), Kameron Spencer 3-(-10), team 1-(-25). Union: Luong 7-112, Aidan Olson 5-26, Jones 3-37, Fuehrer 7-49, Cantu 1-17, Luke Burbank 3-6, Toby Smoot 1-8, Gehrmann 4-(-23).

PASSING – Battle Ground: Spencer 12-20-2-85. Union: Gehrmann 14-19-0-198, Fuehrer 1-1-0-14.

RECEIVING — Battle Ground: Davis 3-11, Chris Dunne 1-16, Reynolds 3-12, Bishop Straube 1-10, Braxton Reece 1-3, Matthew Ferguson 2-10, Wann 1-23. Union: Rebman 6-94, Luong 2-11, Bozovich 3-23, Page 1-23, AJ Attaran 1-17, Cantu 1-30, Ayden Iverson 1-14.