Following the opening kick by Central, Murphysboro produced consecutive three-and-out drives and the Cougars quickly scored on their first two tries.

On the Cougars' first offensive play, Baker found Deien streaking down the field and the senior combo hooked up on a 65-yard TD that put the Cougars up to stay with 9:22 left in the opening quarter.

Senior kicker Noah Koch nailed 4-of-5 PAT's on the day and his first one made it 7-0.

The second Red Devils' possession was no different than the first with three plays producing just five-yards and forcing another punt.

Taking over at their own 40, Breese Central got a six-yard run from Rakers, which set up the next scoring play.

Baker launched a short pass down the right sideline, which was snagged by senior wide receiver Jack Sterkis.

Sterkis did the rest, taking the ball down the field before diving over Murphysboro defender Jeremiah Vaughn to close a 54-yard TD reception.

Another PAT by Koch made it 14-0 in front of a stunned Murphysboro contingent.

“For our defense to start with a three-and-out and then score quickly, it made it so everyone gets to breathe a little bit,” said Coach Short.

Other than the two big plays given up, the Red Devils' defensive unit had a pretty good first half as they didn't allow another point.

But the offense needed a late score but failed to get points after having a first-and-10 just outside the 10-yard line.

Coach Carter's club marched from its own 13-yard line to the Central three.

But facing a fourth down Kellum, after taking a direct snap, was tackled by Becker for a loss of five as the Cougars took over with just 2:00 showing on the second quarter clock.

“It was the biggest swing of the game,” said Coach Short about stopping Murphysboro late in the second quarter. “We had seen their Wildcat formation on film and we were able to stop it.”

Although a long pass by Baker was picked off by Vaughn closed the half, the Red Devils were down two TD's at the break.

“You have to punch it in when you get down there,” said Coach Carter about his team's failure to score inside the Central 10. “Momentum is huge and if we could've punched it in there its now 14-7 and it gives us a fighting chance.”

The back-breaking drive to open the second half by Coach Short's squad took 17-plays to go 80-yards and carved nearly six minutes off of the third quarter clock.

Rakers converted a fourth-and-two on a run that needed the chain gang to call it a first down at the Murphysboro.

After a penalty moved them back, Breese Central got a 24-yard pass from Baker to Rakers to reach the Murphysboro 12-yard line.

A short pass from Baker to Wieter got the ball in closer and Rakers did the rest, taking a direct snap and crashing into the endzone from one-yard out.

Although the PAT kick failed, the Cougars were in control at 20-0 at the 6:43 mark.

“At halftime we talked about going on a long drive. It worked out perfect,” said Baker. “Our blocks were good and we ran a lot of sweeps, got down there at scored.”

Central got another short TD run by Rakers to make it 27-0 on the final play of the third quarter with the successful PAT kick.

“We hadn't been able to establish the run game up to that point but for us to be able to do that made a statement (long drive) and we chewed up a lot of clock to do it,” said Coach Short. “Once we got up three scores it changed the perspective of the game.”

The Red Devils, desperate for points, went to the air late in the game.

Fager threw a pass down the right sideline which turned into a 38-yard interception return for the Cougars' final tally of the game with 3:05 left.

The Kellum touchdown run was window dressing and an onside kick failed as Central recovered the kick and ran out the clock.

“We didn't have any answers today for anything. They just out played us,” said Coach Carter.

Total yards were close with Murphysboro holding a slight 319-317 edge while time of possession favored the Cougars 32:28 to 27:32.

This will mark the third consecutive season in which Mt. Zion comes to Clinton County for a playoff matchup with Central.

The Cougars won the previous two with a narrow victories 21-18 in 2022 and 16-13 last fall.

This was the second playoff win over Murphysboro, having defeated the Red Devils in 2021 48-28 in the second round.

“Since I've been here we haven't won and playoff road games and I've been here 19-years,” said Coach Short. “We're super excited about the opportunity.”