Sports : State Champs! Union defeats Decorah to bring home 3A trophy

Union QB Jay Scheel and Knight fans celebrate the team's first Class 3A State Championship.

The Union Knights brought home their first State Championship trophy Saturday evening, winning the class 3A title with a 21-14 defeat of Decorah.

Senior Wes Burnside led the Union offense, running for 142 yards, including a 33-yard-touchdown.

Down by a point at the beginning of the third quarter, the Knights went to the air to take the lead and the title of State Champion.

With Decorah's tough defense focusing on keeping Burnside from running the ball, sophomore QB Jay Scheel used his arm, connecting with Brad Gallup for a long touchdown pass. A two-point conversion gave the Knights a 21-14 lead with just over six minutes to go.

The Vikings tried three straight runs, but the Union defense stopped them. Decorah punted to the Knights with just under four minutes left to play, hoping for a defensive stop.

But Wes Burnside carried the ball several times for enough first downs to run the clock down to less than two minutes.

Punter Reid Monroe then kicked the ball 75 yards into the end zone; the Vikings had just over 100 seconds to move the ball 80 yards for the tying score. After the Vikings had passed the ball into Union territory, Brandon Kuhn preserved the win with an interception.

The two teams had much in common. They began their season with the closest contest of the year, lost two games along the way, and defeated a district foe that had beaten them during the regular season to advance in the playoffs.

See complete stats HERE.

Early lead

As in their previous game vs. Maquoketa, the Knights built an early lead against the Vikings. The first of two field goals by Brady Peterson and a touchdown run by Burnside gave the Knights a 10-10 first quarter advantage. A long Viking drive made the score 10-7, but the Knights got close enough for Peterson to kick his second field goal as time expired in the second quarter for a 13-7 halftime lead. They kept that lead until a Viking touchdown at the end of the third gave Decorah a 14-13 edge.