ATTICA — In a game where defense and field position was at a premium, Seneca East was supreme.

The Tigers got a huge interception on their own goal line and controlled the line of scrimmage in the second half to best Norwayne, 14-2, in the first round of the Division VI, Region 22 playoffs Friday night.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 10-1 on the season and will play East Knox at a neutral site next week. East Knox enters the game at 11-0.

Seneca East limited an explosive Norwayne (5-6) offense to 203 yards on the night, but the Bobcats gained 80 of those yards in their final possession when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Seneca East coach Ed Phillips had high praise for his defense.

“They basically shut them out,” Phillips said. “They didn’t score on us. I always give credit to the players, because they played their butts off.

“My coaching staff, they were lights out,” Phillips added. “Last week, we watched these guys, we felt they were one of the best teams in the region even though they were a seven-seed. The guys watched them and felt we could shut them down. And they were right.”

Phillips said that his defense was more aggressive most of the night.

“Our kids are just physical,” Phillips said. “They’re tough and they’re determined. The chips didn’t look real good for us in the beginning. But nobody hung their heads.”

After the Bobcats recorded a safety in the first quarter when Dominick Roper tackled Tigers’ quarterback Chase Foos in the end zone, they only got into the Seneca East red zone just one time, and the biggest play of the game occurred.

Trailing 8-2 early in the third period, Norwayne moved to the Seneca East 16. From there, quarterback Nate Bitskay tried to hit a receiver on a slant. But the ball was intercepted by Tigers’ defensive back Elijah Riggs. Riggs returned the ball to near midfield and a penalty on the Bobcats moved the ball to the Norwayne 35.

Seneca East scored on a two-yard run by Kane Lynch and the game was essentially over.

“Man, did we make some big plays,” Phillips said. “The interception was huge. Our kids just do a super job of listening and preparing during the week. And they know what to expect. When they get into a game, it was great to see them execute like they did. We saw that all week in practice, they did that all week. To go out and do it in a game is special.

“We love this time of year,” Phillips added. “Our kids believe. They believe that they can win these games. That’s half the battle.”

The Tigers ran the ball much better in the second half, gaining 124 yards in the final two periods.

“That’s a great defensive line,” Phillips said. “And they have a great team. Our offensive line could have got frustrated. In the first half, Norwayne controlled the line of scrimmage at times. But we kept bringing it and our offensive line did a great job in the second half.”

Box score

Score by quarters

Norwayne         2           0         0         0   — 2

Seneca East     0           8          6         0   — 14

 Scoring summary

First quarter

N — Safety, Dominick Roper tackled Chase Foos in end zone, 8:48.

Second quarter

SE — Dustin Smith 4 run (Skyler Walker run), :14.

Third quarter

SE — Kane Lynch 2 run (pass failed), 4:06.

Individual statistics

Passing

Norwayne: Nate Bitskay 12-27-1 152.

Seneca East: Chase Foos 9-19-0 98.

Rushing

Norwayne: Kaden Kidd 8-39, Payton Hall 13-32.

Seneca East: Skyler Walker 15-45, Kane Lynch 5-28, Chase Foos 14-21.

Receiving

Norwayne: Hayden Tanner 4-61, Nick Ehrhart 4-21, Dominick Roper 2-49.

Seneca East: Walker 4-39, Mason Foos 3-38, Jacob Siesel 2-16.

Team statistics

N             SE

First downs                 14            8

Rushing                   23-74      42-133

Passes                      12-27-1     9-19-0

Yards passing          154               98

Total yards                228          231