FOXBURG — History was made Friday night as Union defeated A-C Valley 49-0.

The Golden Knights (6-3) qualified for the District 9 playoffs for the first time in school history with the win.

“(Making the playoffs) was our goal at the beginning of the year,” Union coach Dave Louder said. “We fought hard and earned the right to be here.”

A solid passing and running attack and unforgiving defense was too much for A-C Valley to handle.

Union quarterback Taylor Smith finished with eight completions on 14 tosses for 214 yards and four total touchdowns, including two on the ground.

“I was just trying to make stuff happen,” Smith said. “I trust Brody (Pollock) and all of my receivers.”

Smith rushed 19 yards for a touchdown with 5:02 left in the first quarter, followed by a pass to Brody Shick for an 8-0 lead.

The senior quarterback then threw a 72-yard touchdown pass to Pollock with 1:04 remaining in the opening quarter.

“Taylor's starting to see the calls we want him to see,” Louder said. “The first touchdown pass to Brody was a check call. It was a run.

“He knew (the coverage) and checked into it. Last year, he wouldn't do that.”

Pollock intercepted A-C Valley quarterback Kevin Kaufman and ran it back 45 yards for another score, giving the Knights 22 points in the first quarter.

Smith threw his first incompletion with 7:37 left the the first half. He had completed his first five pass attempts.

“(Smith) was feeling it tonight,” Louder said. “They stacked everybody to stop Mikey (Harris) and Austin (Davis) and he was able to exploit them.”

It didn't rain during the game, but both teams still had to deal with a very muddy field.

Union's running game still got some work done, finishing with 80 yards. Harris had 52 yards on four carries and Davis 33 yards on 11 carries.

Harris continued the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown run with 7:37 in the second quarter.

It was 37-0 going into halftime after Shick caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Smith as time ran out.

Davis scored on a 11-yard touchdown run with 7:40 left in the third quarter.

“It's great to get a crew like this,” Louder said, “especially those three (Smith, Davis and Pollock) plus Mikey Harris, names forever in history.”

The Falcons put up 42 rushing yards and 59 through the air. Quarterback Kevin Kaufman finished 4-for-11 passing with three interceptions.

Union came into the game on a high, after winning its last two against Keystone and St. Marys.

“Don't take A-C for granted like we thought St. Marys took us for granted,” Louder said. “We're playing solid ball, and hopefully we can continue that in the playoffs.”