Top-ranked Union entered its Class 6AI quarterfinal playoff game knowing Edmond Santa Fe had a good, yet young, team.

So the Redskins simply ground out an old-fashioned 28-3 win by using their always-stellar defense and an ever-improving running game.

Union will face Broken Arrow in the semifinals.

Darius Boone Jr. ran for 326 yards on 37 carries and three touchdowns behind his big offensive line.

“Obviously, Darius has stepped it up the last few weeks,” Union coach Kirk Fridrich said. “But those guys up front have been getting better and better, and I am excited for them.”

“My line was on fire and I just had to do my job,” the junior running back said. “Every lineman was contributing, pounding hard. I just had to run the ball. And thank God I was able to.”

The final touchdown came with 1:49 left in the game and capped an eight-play, 61-yard drive that took 4:11 off the clock.

“I just saw the hole open and ran to it,” Boone said. “I wanted to score really bad to put the game away. I kept my pad-level low and kept driving.”

Linemen Ricky Stromburg, Quintan Barnes, Tanner Fort, Alfonso Gallegos, and Mario Roland kept opening the holes for Boone. All were mentioned in the postgame by their coach.

“Those are pretty big guys up front,” Fridrich said. “And they like it when we have those type of games.”

The first big hole came on the second play of the game, resulting in Boone’s 63-yard touchdown run.

“We just blocked our assignments,” Stromburg said. “I think we are coming together as a line. It’s playoff time. You’ve got to do that.”

Boone added a 17-yard run with 4:24 left in the first quarter that gave Union a 14-0 lead.

“We didn’t have that running game earlier in the season,” Fridrich said of his team finding a groove offensively.

But when it looked like Union was going to literally run away from the Wolves, Santa Fe’s defense knuckled down in the second quarter and the offense got on track enough for a field goal.

“They’ve got a young team that’s going to be pretty good next year,” Fridrich said of the Wolves.

That 32-yard kick by Austin Garcia pulled Santa Fe within 14-3.

Santa Fe’s defense kept Union out of the end zone the rest of the half.
The Wolves opened the second half with the ball, but went only 25 yards upfield to their own 45 before fumbling.

Patrick Fields recovered for Union and, four plays later, Peyton Thompson found tight end Lawrence Harris for a 10-yard scoring pass for a 21-3 lead with 8:05 left in the third.

Both defenses kept making enough plays to keep each other out of the end zones. Santa Fe intercepted a pass that stopped a Union drive at the Santa Fe 12.

Union’s defense overcame two costly penalties to end the quarter with a goal-line stand, stopping Santa Fe tailback M’bari Snoddy short of a touchdown as time expired.

The Redskins (11-0) put together a 9-play drive to open the fourth, but Santa Fe deflected a fourth-down pass to take over at its 29 with 8:06 left.

But 10 plays later, Union took back over on downs at its 39, stifling a 4th-and-14 run by backup quarterback Jorgen Olsen that was 2 yards short of the first down.

That led to Boone’s final score, which came after he carried the ball seven of eight times on Union’s final drive.

“Our kids held the game in check,” Fridrich said. “It felt like the playoffs and it’s a lot of fun to have those situations.”

