Union/A-C Valley tramples Otto-Eldred in District 9 football first round as Max Gallagher leads way
RIMERSBURG — Union/A-C Valley ran its way to the next round of the playoffs with a 57-30 home win over the Otto-Eldred Terrors, in a game filled to the brim with highlight-reel offensive plays on both sides of the ball.
The Falcon Knights’ rushing offense was the difference in the Friday’s District 9 Class 1A quarterfinal, as running back Max Gallagher and quarterback Owen Bish combined for 444 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 23 carries — a whopping 19.3 yards per carry.
“We knew that they were gonna give us some trouble scoring points, so we figured we would have to match them,” Union/A-C Valley head coach Dan Reed said. “So it just came down to making some plays and getting a few stops, which we did. And we were scoring pretty much every time we touched the ball.”
Gallagher was the individual star of the game, carrying the ball 16 times for 224 yards and two touchdowns while also catching four passes for 112 yards and another three touchdowns.
His performance was all the more impressive, given that he was dealing with a minor injury and wasn’t able to practice the week leading up to the game.
“He had an injury over the weekend by doing some weed-whacking,” Reed said. “Hopefully he’s a little more healthy last week.”
“It was just a sprain. It wasn’t a major injury,” Gallagher said. “I just had to fight through it. I felt slower than normal.”
Gallagher credited his performance to the Falcon Knights’ offensive line.
“The linemen paved the way for me, so I didn’t need to do much work,” Gallagher said.
When he needed to, Bish made plays with his arm, completing 7 of 9 passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns — all to Gallagher.
In the first half, both teams largely traded score for score. A 5-yard touchdown run for Bish on the Falcon Knights’ opening possession was matched seconds later when Ray’Shene Thomas took the next kickoff 85 yards for a Terrors touchdown.
Thomas accounted for three of the Terrors’ four touchdowns on the night, the other two coming on passes from quarterback Shane Magee.
Magee was excellent, hitting 24 of 37 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns.
The game started turning in UAC’s favor with a dramatic sequence during the second quarter, which started with the Falcon Knights backed up on their own 1-yard line. Two plays later, they were in the end zone, with Bish galloping 86 yards on a quarterback keeper.
The Terrors fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and the very next play Bish hit Gallagher for a 41-yard touchdown to make the score 27-8 for the Knights.
The Falcon Knights put the game away by scoring 23 points in the third quarter, including a double-reverse touchdown pass to Bish from wide receiver Trent Fleming.
With their win, the Falcon-Knights will move on to face Redbank Valley in the semifinals. Redbank Valley defeated Cameron County 42-6 in their quarterfinal game Friday.
“We need to step it up defensively,” Reed said. “Redbank has Braylon Wagner, a great quarterback. Not only can he kill you passing the ball, but he can kill you running the ball. And that gives us trouble with quarterbacks who can run.”
Otto-Eldred 8 8 6 8 — 30
Union-AC 13 14 23 7 — 57
First quarter
U — Owen Bish 5 run (Eduardo Gularte kick) 4:47
O — Ray’Shene Thomas 85 kickoff return (2-point good) 4:32
U — Max Gallagher 21 run (2-pointer fail) 0:14
Second quarter
U — Owen Bish 83 run (Eduardo Gularte kick) 9:17
U — Max Gallagher 41 pass from Owen Bish (Eduardo Gularte kick) 9:09
O — Manning Splain 6 pass from Shane Magee (2-point good) 4:22
Third quarter
U — Max Gallagher 2 run (2-point good) 10:16
O — Ray’Shene Thomas 48 pass from Shane Magee (2-point fail) 9:50
U — Owen Bish 4 pass from Trent Fleming (2-point good) 7:56
U — Max Gallagher 17 pass from Owen Bish (Eduardo Gularte kick) 3:06
Fourth quarter
U — Max Gallagher 27 pass from Owen Bish (Eduardo Gularte kick) 11:51
O — Ray’Shene Thomas 15 pass from Shane Magee (2-point good) 6:52
Individual statistics
Rushing: Otto-Eldred, Shane Magee 7-37, Dawson Welch 1-13, Hunter App 7-12, David Schenfield 1-9, Ray’Shene Thomas 1-(-2). Union/A-C Valley, Max Gallagher 16-224, Owen Bish 7-120, Aidan Fox 1-45, Michael Yerkey 3-31, Colbin Elliott 5-15, Peyton Wilson 1-0, Stephen Hepler 1-(-1).
Passing: Otto-Eldred, Shane Magee 24-37-244-3, Mason Schenfield 1-1-16-0. Union/A-C Valley, Owen Bish 7-9-124-3, Trent Fleming 1-1-4-1, Peyton Wilson 0-1-0-0.
Receiving: Otto-Eldred, David Schenfield 8-94, Manning Splain 7-52, Hunter App 5-50, Ray’Shene Thomas 3-64, Dawson Welch 2-11. Union/A-C Valley, Max Gallagher 4-112, Aidan Fox 2-7, Colbin Elliott 1-5, Owen Bish 1-4.
