SYCAMORE — One play motivated the Mohawk Warriors. And that play wasn’t one the Warriors ran.
Mohawk led 7-0 midway through the second quarter, when Edgerton quarterback Maddox Baker hit Karter Gibson for a 73-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.
That play seemed to spark the Warriors.
Mohawk scored the next 42 points in a row and ran over the Bulldogs, 49-14, in the first round of the Division VII, Region 26 playoffs Friday night.
With the win, the Warriors (9-2) will host McComb next Friday night. The Panthers advanced with a 28-14 win over 9-2 Edon. Edgerton finished its season with a 6-5 record.
Mohawk took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a three-yard run by wide receiver Kahne Hayman, but the score stayed that way until the Bulldogs’ huge scoring pass midway through the second quarter.
The play seemed to wake the Warriors’ up.
“It was a little wake-up,” Mohawk coach Eric Daniel said. “And we needed to refocus. It was a little clunky in the first half at times. It was like, we would get 15 or 20 yards and then we would get a hold. We would get 10 yards and then get a penalty.
“We knew once we got those things cleaned up, we were going to move the football,” Daniel added. “That one drive where we ran the football six or seven times and got eight or 12 yards a carry, it’s like, ‘that’s your identity, that’s what we do,’ so that was huge because it kinda set the tone and then it opens up the back end.”
How good were the Warriors after that? Mohawk scored three touchdowns in the final 4:24 of the half and put the game away.
Warriors’ quarterback Ben Bogner rushed for 169 yards on 16 carries and scored three rushing touchdowns while passing for 126 yards and a score.
“This was really important for the system, Mohawk football,” Bogner said. “Because I don’t recall the last time we had a home win (in the playoffs).
“To be totally honest. we dominated the second half of that game,” Bogner added. “It was a statement victory for our program. It means a lot.”
Bogner scored on a 14-yard run to give the Warriors the lead at the 4:24 mark, before halfback Kaden Bish scored on a 13-yard run to increase the lead to 21-7.
With just 16.7 seconds left in the half, Bogner rolled and hit Hayman for a 16-yard scoring pass and the Warriors were in control at the break, leading 28-7.
Bogner scored on runs of 28 and 15 yards in the third quarter, giving Mohawk a 42-7 lead.
“It was pretty good,” Bogner said of his performance. “It could have been better in the pass game, but the O-line played a (heck) of a game. I wasn’t getting touched until four or five yards, so credit the offensive line tonight.”
“(Bogner) goes forward and he’s a tough kid,” Daniel said. “Hard-worker and just physical. He almost always finishes running forward and he’s got great ball security. We challenged our offensive line tonight.”
The Warriors increased the lead to 49-7 in the fourth quarter on a 62-yard interception return from Hayman.
The Bulldogs got the final score of the game on a 73-yard run from Scottie Krontz.
Mohawk ran for 279 yards on 29 carries, something which pleased Daniel.
“We challenged them because at Seneca East, we had trouble running the ball,” Daniel said. “We can’t afford that. If teams are going to vacate the box, we have to be able to run the football. So they did. They set the tone right off the bat. Honestly, I kinda thought we broke them down a little towards the end of the first half. It just wore on them and leaned on them. And our kids were smacking.”
Mohawk 49, Edgerton 14
Score by quarters
Edgerton 0 7 0 7 — 14
Mohawk 7 21 14 7 — 49
Scoring summary
First quarter
M — Kahne Hayman 5 run (Brant Kirian kick), 3:26.
Second quarter
E — Karter Gibson 73 pass from Maddox Baker (Caden Sinclair kick), 5:18.
M — Ben Bogner 14 run (Kiran kick), 4:24.
M — Kaden Bish 13 run (Kirian kick), 1:58.
M — Hayman 16 pass from Bogner (Kirian kick), :16.
Third quarter
M — Bogner 28 run (Kirian kick), 10:10.
M — Bogner 15 run (Kirian kick), 4:15.
Fourth quarter
M — Hayman 62 interception return (Kirian kick), 11:20.
E — Scottie Krontz 73 run (Sinclair kick), 8:30.
Individual statistics
Passing
Edgerton: Maddox Baker 20-31-1 234; Mohawk: Ben Bogner 6-12-0 126, Kahne Hayman 0-1-1 0.
Rushing
Edgerton: Scottie Krontz 7-83, Joel Walkup 6-14, Kellen Sanchez 1-(-1), Maddox Baker 7-(-8); Mohawk: Ben Bogner 16-169, Kaden Bish 10-117, Kahne Hayman 2-8, Andon Clouse 1-(-5).
Receiving
Edgerton: Karter Gibson 4-91, Scottie Krontz 4-41, Kellen Sanchez 6-33, Joel Walkup, Noah Weaver 1-6; Mohawk: Kahne Hayman 3-74, Kaleb Bish 2-43, Andon Clouse 1-6.
Team statistics
E M
First downs 14 12
Rushing 21-88 29-279
Passes 20-31-1 6-13-1
Yards passing 234 126
Total yards 322 305
Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties 10-100 7-66