It was power football all right.
And in the first round of 8-Man Division I playoffs, the Greensburg Rangers now 6-4, were far too powerful for the undefeated Minneola Wildcats.
The Rangers handed the Wildcats their first loss of the season, 74-28. The game ended early due to the 45-point mercy rule.
"They (Minneola) looked like a very solid team on film, and I think they were," Greensburg coach Clint Young said. "I think when you are 9-0 there is a lot more pressure on you then there is on the team that's 5-4. We weren't supposed to win, a lot of people said we weren't even supposed to be here but so often this year, we haven't had our complete team.
"We suited everybody tonight and said we're going to go with the five seniors, play you're last game and if you play well, you'll get another shot. I thought the kids really took advantage of the situation and they came out and executed offensively."
And they executed offensively all night.
The game started with an early 1-yard touchdown by Ranger Grant Sirois.
Minneola answered back five minutes later with a 9-yard pass from Jason McClaren to Austin Riley.
Greensburg scored again before the end of the quarter, leading 16-8 at the end of the first.
"You know, Minneola had some pretty good athletes," Young said. "Those kids could play. We had chances to make plays and we did. That's the difference in the ball game."
The Wildcats had a few more chances in the second half. They started the second quarter with a huge 34-yard pass from McClaren to Colbie Penick. Less than a minute later, the Rangers answered back.
Both teams scored two more time before the half was up, including Ranger Nathan Charlton's first touchdown of the night. Greensburg lead 36-28 at the half.
"Greensburg, you have to give all the credit to them," Minneola coach Aaron Schilde said. "They pushed us, and when your offense has got to score all the time, when you don't score, it puts more pressure on your defense. Give it to them though. I know we didn't tackle very well but thats because they've got good players and a good offensive line."
Their offensive line commanded the entire second half.
In the third quarter, Charlton ran in two touchdowns. Charlton ended with 254 yards and four touchdowns on the night.
The Rangers held the Wildcats in the fourth, not allowing them to score in the second half. Greensburg's final touchdown of the night came from a pass from Thomas Derstein to Cody Headrick to end the game with 7 minutes left.
Greensburg advances to play on Saturday at home. Their opponent was unknown at presstime.
Both coaches gave credit to their teams, despite the outcome.
"I think our seniors, they played all year long, they gave us everything they had," Schilde said. "I appreciate those guys. We just had a bad game and it came at the wrong time. Right now, they are disappointed, but overall they'll start looking back and they'll think of the stuff they accomplished and the records they set. The records are for longevity, that's what you look back at. I'm very proud of ending up 9-1 and going to the playoffs."
Young said everyone on his team played well.
"I didn't see anybody that didn't play well for us," Young said. "I think we all played really well. One of our best performances of the year, and one of those performances we've been waiting to see and knew was there it was just waiting to come out."
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Greensburg 16 20 24 14 — 74
Minneola 8 20 0 0 — 28
