Aurora Christian blows out No. 3 seed Oregon
OREGON -- It was billed as a matchup between Aurora Christian's high-powered aerial attack against Oregon's versatile running game.
The result was decisively one-sided.
Aurora Christian junior quarterback Anthony Maddie racked up 297 yards passing and 6 touchdowns while the Eagles defense allowed just 150 total yards as part of a convincing 38-0 victory in Friday night's Class 3A opening round playoff game.
Sixth-seeded Aurora Christian (6-4) will host No. 2 seed Wilmington (10-0) in the second round as the Wildcats routed Winnebago 55-26.
"We caught fire in this game and hopefully we can drag that along," said Maddie, who tossed five of his touchdowns in the first half.
"My arm felt great tonight, so I knew that I would be able to make those throws to stretch the field a little bit."
After forcing a pair of Oregon punts to start the game, Maddie hit Chad Beebe in stride over the middle for a 70-yard gain, then overcame a clipping penalty with a 25-yard touchdown strike to Andrew Cassara.
The Eagles marched for scores on four consecutive second quarter drives.
Kenny McCracken scampered in from 10 yards out on a short pass in the flat and Beebe followed by splitting the Oregon defense for a 20-yard score and a 19-0 lead with 6:20 left in the half.
Cassara broke free deep over the middle for a 39-yard touchdown with 1:20 left and Beebe hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass 42 seconds later after the Eagles recovered an onside kick.
"That throw to Andrew against the wind was a missile," said Eagles coach Don Beebe. "That's a big time throw for a quarterback."
"They kept leaving the post route open so we kept going back to it," Maddie said. "Everyone on the team helped out tonight and deserves credit for the win."
Chad Beebe finished with 7 catches for 156 yards while Cassara amassed 90 yards on 3 receptions and added a 13-yard pass completion.
Mitch Holtz gained 57 yards on 10 carries for the Eagles while Grayson Roberts capped the scoring with a 28-yard reception midway through the third quarter.
Oregon (6-4) gained just 79 yards in the first half, but narrowly missed big play opportunities in the passing game.
Hawks quarterback Sam Noble completed just 2 of 13 passes for 35 yards before leaving the game with an injury late in the first half.
"We were fortunate that they just overthrew a couple of receivers," Don Beebe said. "Overall our defense played a physical game and flew to the ball."
"Our scout offense mimicked their offense all week, so our defense knew their assignments and did a great job executing," Chad Beebe said.