Danny Sanchez-Harlow took the opening play from scrimmage in the second half 7 yards for a Placer touchdown to put the Hillmen up by four points against the East Union Lancers Friday night in Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV opening-round playoff action at Dino Cunial Staduim.

“That’s a really good program over there, and we knew coming into the game it was going to be a fight,” East Union head coach Jason Stock said. “When we went down, we challenged each and every one of our guys to respond.”

Safe to say Stock’s Lancers were up for the challenge.

The No. 4 Lancers responded to fifth-seeded Placer by scoring 37 consecutive points, pulling away for a 58-25 win to book the program’s first trip to a section semifinal since 1989 when Stock starred as a running back for his alma mater.

No stranger to scoring points, East Union (8-3) came into Friday night’s playoff game averaging 51 points, most of which came through the air in a vaunted passing attack led by senior signal caller Kirk Simoni.

Stock and offensive coordinator Teejay Gordon would show the rest of the Division IV bracket that they could be just as effective on the ground, racking up exactly 500 yards rushing on 30 carries, averaging over 16 yards per play.

“We had a pretty good idea coming into the game that we would be able to run the ball,” Stock said. “We blocked really well up front, and when you have two weapons like we do, it can be a really long night for opposing defenses.”

Senior wide receiver Jackson Fay, who spent time playing quarterback while Simoni was nursing an Achilles injury, carried the ball seven times out of the Wildcat and on jet sweeps to the tune of 204 yards, including a 71-yard keeper that saw him evade tackle after tackle before finding a seam to put the Lancers up 14-0 early in the first quarter.

“Honestly, I was just trying to make a play for my team,” Fay said of the electrifying play. “Our O-line did a great job on that play and all night long, and I was just trying to stay upright.”

Placer (6-5) would answer the two early scores from East Union with two of their own to take a lead 15-14 midway through the second quarter.

On the ensuing drive, senior running back Brayden Camara would take over. On third and 10, Camara took a draw play 21 yards for a touchdown, his first of five on the night to go along with 289 yards on 22 carries.

A Placer field goal after East Union’s defense held in the red zone would make it 21-18 going into the break.

After Sanchez-Harlow’s touchdown put the Lancers down again, it was yet another East Union playmaker that would respond on the ensuing kickoff. Senior wide receiver JP Abrew took a short kickoff, evaded a few tackles and found space down the sideline going 72 yards to put East Union back on top for good just 12 seconds later.

In what was to that point a back-and-forth affair, Stock knew his defense would need to make plays if the Lancers were going to pull away from their visitors from Auburn.

The first big play by the defense would come on the next Placer possession as standout linebacker Hoku Ape punched the ball out from William Santamaria, and the fumble was recovered by Erick Cortez for the first of three forced turnovers in the second half for the Lancers.

“Our defense came up huge tonight,” Stock said. “Each of the stops we got in the second half just built more and more momentum for the offense and helped us take control of the game.”

Camara would score touchdowns on three straight possessions in the third quarter after stops by the defense, the third of which saw the Lancers’ leading rusher break a plethora of tackles on a 71-yard run to put away the Hillmen with just over a minute left in the third quarter.

“All I could think was to just keep my legs moving,” Camara said. “I was just trying to run hard and thought to myself that I was going to be brought down at any moment, and that just didn’t happen.”

Camara would add his fifth score on the evening late in the fourth for the last Lancer points for a final score that could not have been predicted by anyone who watched the first 24 minutes of action.

The win earns East Union a trip to Lincoln next Friday night to take on undefeated top seed Twelve Bridges in the semifinals. Twelve Bridges defeated Placer 49-24 in Foothill Valley League play back on Oct. 10th.

“We know that’s a really good team up there waiting for us,” Stock said. “The plan is to watch some film, come up with a game plan and spend the next week of practice putting ourselves in a good position to come out and compete.”