It took a half for the Phoenix football team to realize its destiny on Friday night.

After 24 sluggish minutes, the Pirates woke up in a big way by rolling past host Klamath Union in a Skyline Conference finale for both teams in Klamath Falls.

The victory was the fourth straight for PHS (6-2 overall, 4-1 Skyline) and secured a share of the conference title as well as a. home game for this weekend's 4A play-in round. Phoenix will host Newport on Saturday at 5 pm. A win over the Cubs would give the Pirates another home game the following weekend during the first round of the OSAA playoffs.

Coming off an emotional victory over Henley the previous week, Phoenix was flat during the first two quarters. The Pirates trailed 13-6 at halftime and were struggling to move the ball as well as contain the Pelican offense.

PHS took advantage of a long halftme break to allow KU to celebrate homecoming, making necessary adjustments on both sides of the ball. The result: a 34-point second half while allowing only a meaningful Pelican score in the game's final minutes.

Javan Gail and Chase Courtney continued to display their lethal combination. Gail threw for four touchdowns, including three to Courtney. Gail also threw a scoring pass to Jonathan Halligan (five catches for 104 yards). Courtney hauled in 130 yards on six receptions while Gail added two running touchdowns to go with his 242 passing yards. 

The win moved Phoenix up to sixth in the final state RPI. The Pirates are the top seed among the teams hosting games this weekend. Meanwhile, Newport (4-4 overall, 3-2 in the Oregon West Conference) finished third in its league and is ranked 29th.