It didn't take the unbeaten and top-ranked Boyd-Buchanan Buccaneers long to take care of business Thursday night at a soggy David L. Boyd Field.
As a matter of fact, the game started at 7 p.m. and was over by 8:52.
Facing the Eagleville Eagles in the first round of the Class AA state playoffs, the Bucs were all business as they scored on all five first-half possessions and rolled to an impressive 41-0 victory over the Eagles, who finish their season at 5-6.
"How 'bout those Bucs?" shouted a happy head coach Grant Reynolds to his players after his team had won for the 11th straight game.
"I thought we were really business-like in our approach. We know it will get tougher and tougher as we progress, but we just have to survive and advance at this point.
"I thought we were really focused tonight and we know that we can't afford to take anyone for granted, but we just wanted a win. Our seniors know what's on the line and they just want to keep playing, but I thought that Cooper Hodge did a nice job of managing our offense," Reynolds said after his team piled up 371 total yards, mostly in the first half.
The Bucs finished with 312 rushing yards, including 264 in the first two quarters when five different players scored touchdowns. Hodge also completed four passes in the first half for 59 yards, including a nine-yard TD to junior Evan Morris midway through the second quarter that gave the Bucs a 28-0 lead.
Eight Bucs got the chance to run the ball at least one time with senior E.J. Matthews leading the way with 87 yards on 11 carries. He also scored the first touchdown on a 19-yard run less than a minute into the game.
Isaiah Dillard, another senior, followed with 79 yards on just six carries, including a 20-yard scamper that concluded the scoring with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Sophomore Michael Mincey had 66 yards on three attempts in a reserve role, including a 60-yard sprint for a TD in the second stanza as the Bucs carried a commanding 35-0 lead into the dressing room at intermission.
Jeremy Borders also got into the act with a 54-yard scoring run on Boyd's second possession as he finished with 53 yards on two carries.
The young Eagles, who dressed 29 freshmen for Thursday's game, never really got untracked offensively as quarterback Ethan Cobb was under constant pressure.
The Eagles only had 46 yards total offense in the first half and finished with 94, including 73 yards through the air on Cobb's eight completions, including seven for 61 yards to sophomore Graham Hatcher.
A 22-yard pass from Cobb to Hatcher in the waning minutes of the game was the longest play of the game for the Eagles.
The Buccaneer defense was active all night and had at least five tackles for lost yards, including two from Jake Harden and one each from Henke, Will Watkins and Will Rains.
Eagleville coach Steve Carson admitted before the game that he was personally surprised that his team even qualified for the playoffs with such a young team.
""I know that we're in for a tough evening, but I just want my guys to get out there and play hard," he said before the opening kickoff.
"That was about what I expected, but I was hoping that we would at least score. We had to win our last game to even be here and I couldn't be any more proud of my team. I hope we'll get a chance to play them again in the future," he concluded with a smile.
While the Buccaneer running game was clicking on all cylinders, the Boyd-Buchanan defense played pretty well too as they intercepted two Cobb passes.
The first came on Eagleville's second possession when Kohl Henke made a nice pick and returned it some 53 yards before getting knocked out of bounds by Cobb at the 3. Cooper Hodge scored on a keeper from the 3 some two minutes later.
The senior signal caller was just happy to get the first round game out of the way.
"We have a great offensive line and we also have some pretty good backs, but we just have to take things one game at a time. I felt like we took care of business, but there's always stuff we can correct. But any playoff win is amazing," he said before heading to the dressing room.
While the victorious Bucs finished with 312 rushing yards and 59 through the air, Eagleville finished with 94 total yards. The Bucs also enjoyed a 12-6 advantage in first downs.
The Bucs are now 11-0 and await the winner of Friday's game between Tyner and Watertown.
EAGLEVILLE 0 0 0 0 -- 0
BOYD-BUCHANAN 21 14 6 0 -- 41
BB -- E.J. Matthews 19 run (Will Greer kick), 11:07 left in first;
BB -- Jeremy Borders 54 run (pass failed), 7:26 left in first;
BB -- Cooper Hodge 3 run (Hodge run), 4:20 left in first;
BB -- Evan Morris 9 pass from Hodge (Greer kick), 7:42 left in second;
BB -- Michael Mincey 60 run (Greer kick), 5:38 left in second;
BB -- Isaiah Dillard 20 run (kick blocked), 8:02 left in third.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)