Oklahoma Union rolled up more than 500 yards of offense and used several big plays to get by No. 8-ranked Vian in front of a big crowd at St. John Stadium. The win puts the Cougars into the third round for the first time and they will play at Beaver on Saturday.
Vian, playing in the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1998, saw its season come to an end with a record of 10-2.
Oklahoma Union scored on five plays of at least 40 yards. Quarterback Jason Dickson completed four passes for 161 yards and one touchdown and ran for 65 yards and another score. Halfbacks Derrick Burch and Tim Keeton ran for 146 and 100 yards, respectively and wide receiver/defensive back Ronald Davis turned in several big plays as well.
The visitors took the lead on their second possession of the night, when tight end Logan Dotson got behind the Vian defense and went 73 yards with a Dickson pass.
The Wolverine defense helped Vian even the score late in the first period. Defensive back Roger Lane picked off an Oklahoma Union pass and returned it 14 yards to the Cougar 18. Demarqua Pratt ran for 16 yards on first down and, two plays later, crashed into the end zone from a yard out. Timmy Hart's point-after kick was good, tying the game at 7-7 with 37 seconds left in the period.
Oklahoma Union took six plays to drive 79 yards for a quick reply. Burch had the big play with a 40-yard run and Keeton scored the touchdown on a two-yard run with 10:20 remaining in the second quarter.
After a Vian punt, Davis made his first big play of the night for Oklahoma Union. The Cougars fumbled the ball forward on an option play, it bounced to Davis and he raced 43 yards to the end zone. The extra-point kick failed, but the Cougars led 20-7 with 6:41 to go in the half.
Vian responded with an 85-yard drive to claw back into contention. Quarterback Seth Sloan connected twice with tight end Hart with the second completion going for 42 yards and putting the ball at the OU 18. Pratt ran for five yards on first down before Sloan rolled to his left and slipped into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown. Hart's kick was good, pulling Vian back to within 20-14 with 4:06 left.
Both teams traded punts and Oklahoma Union got the ball back with less than a minute to play in the half. That turned out to be enough time for the Cougars to score again. Burch took a pitch from Dickson and ran 44 yards down the Vian sideline to give the visitors a 27-14 halftime lead.
The Wolverines took the opening kickoff of the second half and drove down to the OU 24 before turning the ball over on downs. Their defense forced a Cougar punt and Londell Taylor returned it to the OU 28. Two penalties were tacked on, giving the Wolverines a first-and-goal at the seven-yard line. Three plays later, Pratt scored on a one-yard run and Hart booted the extra point to cut the gap to 27-21 with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
Once again, the Cougars had a quick reply. Davis returned the ensuing kickoff to midfield and, on second down, Dickson scored on a 48-yard option keeper.
Vian was forced to punt on its next possession and Oklahoma Union drove 84 yards to build a 40-21 lead. Keeton got the touchdown with 9:29 left in the game on a seven-yard run.
The Wolverines refused to give in and Sloan directed a 63-yard scoring drive to pull them back within two touchdowns. The sophomore passed 27 yards to Taylor for a first down, tossed a seven-yard pass to Dwyatt Harrison and then threw 27 yards to Taylor, who outjumped a defender to make the catch in the end zone. Hart's kick made it 40-28 with 8:10 left.
On the first play after recovering an onside kick, the Cougars moved the ball 59 yards via a Dickson-to-Dotson pass play. Keeton ran two yards for a touchdown to extend the OU lead to 47-28.
Vian tried to rally again, moving the ball into Cougar territory. However, Davis picked off a pass and returned it 65 yards for the final score of the night.
Vian had most of its offensive success through the air as Sloan completed 21-of-31 passes for 236 yards. Hart had five catches for 84 yards, Taylor five for 79 yards, Garrett Ford three for 22, Stewart two for 23, Harrison two for 14 and Justin Schaub one for 16.
On the ground, the Wolverines were held to 68 yards on 33 attempts. Pratt was the top Vian rusher with 22 carries for 56 yards.
Hart also excelled in the kicking game, nailing all four of his point-after kicks and booming seven points for a 40.9-yard average.
Oklahoma Union piled up 370 yards rushing on 42 attempts and Dickson was 4-of-9 passing for 161 yards.
