“I think that’s the first field goal in three years at MCM that we’ve ever attempted,” MCM coach Shawn Flanagan said. “It’s pretty crazy to think about it.”

Gordon’s one-yard quarterback sneak midway through the third quarter extended MCM’s lead to 9-0. WWSSC’s Carter Grohs scored a five-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter for the final margin.

The Fighting Cougars (7-2) later forced a WWSSC turnover on downs with 3-minutes and 23 seconds left. On third down, MCM’s Trevor Hansen picked up a key first down on a 13-yard run and the Fighting Cougars ran out the clock. 

“Woonsocket is a real physical team,” Flanagan said. “They played tough and I think it was a big-time matchup for the 8 and 9 seeds. They played a really tough schedule and we did, too. Hats off to them and they have a lot of really good players.”

Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central's Tryce Slykhuis carries the ball against McCook Central/Montrose on Thursday. (Ryan Deal / 605 Sports)

The Blackhawks (5-4) outgained the Fighting Cougars, 222-129. WWSSC also controlled the time of possession and had the ball for just over 31 minutes. However, WWSSC committed three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions in the second quarter. 

Cody Miles picked off both passes, including one on fourth and five from MCM’s five-yard line. 

“It felt good down here,” Miles said. “It felt really good to get a nice interception and a big play down here.”

After punting the ball back to WWSSC, Miles came up with his second interception on the final play of the half, preserving a 3-0 lead. 

“I thought the defense played great and we had a lot of turnovers,” Flanagan said. “We were talking about playing tough and we played tough tonight.”

MCM forced a WWSSC turnover on downs on the opening possession of the second half. Gordon capped off an eight-play drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak and a 9-0 advantage. 

WWSSC put together a long scoring drive that was capped off with Grohs’ five-yard touchdown run. 

After forcing an MCM punt, the Blackhawks drove into the Fighting Cougars’ territory. However, turned the ball over on downs and MCM milked the clock for the win. 

Clay Olinger led WWSSC with 82 rushing yards on 22 carries. Tryce Slykhuis threw for 76 yards, while Grohs had 50 receiving yards. Noah Wormstadt had a team-high 6.5 tackles. 

For MCM, Gordon finished with 21 passing yards. Hansen added 114 rushing yards on 30 carries. Braeden Kerkhove posted 12 tackles. 

Up next, MCM will play at No. 1 Winner in the quarterfinals. 

“We have a great opportunity next week to go down to Winner and hopefully we play them tough and come out with a ‘W,’ ” Flanagan said.