RIVER FALLS — Division 2 No. 1 seed River Falls once again asserted its dominance in the level two playoffs, scoring 41 points in the first half to beat La Crosse Central 50-24.

On the game’s opening drive, Central stuffed the Wildcats, forcing a third and 13 near midfield. Senior quarterback Tino Massa showed no problem getting his squad out of it, tossing a deep pass to streaking senior Todd Benedict in stride to kick off the game with a score. That would be a sign of things to come, as the Wildcats piled on for touchdown after touchdown to lead 41-16 halfway through the second quarter. For most of the rest of the game, River Falls just needed to possess the football and limit mistakes, and they did just that.

“We came out and played well and got a first half lead,” Head Coach Ryan Scherz said. “Did enough to finish the game.”

At 10-1 on the year, River Falls can obviously get it done in all phases of the game, but the play in the trenches on the offensive and defensive lines have been a catalyst for that.

River Falls has got it done through the air and on the ground all year, throwing for two more touchdowns and rushing for five in Friday’s win. Senior running back Joseph Tarasewicz is the face of the running game, continuing an exceptional year by taking 18 carries for 267 yards and five touchdowns to pair with 74 receiving yards on a pair of receptions. Everyone does their part to make the offense churn, and the offensive line has the size and cohesiveness to bring it all together.

Defensively, the line constantly wreaks havoc on backfields, forcing teams to work against the sticks and make off-timing throws. This has allowed the talented bunch at the second and third levels to feast for turnovers.

“We’re obviously blessed with some really good football players, but they’re committed to doing their jobs as well as they possibly can,” Scherz said. “They know if they do that, we have the skill players that can take advantage of that.”

What makes the front line so solid is the fact that they work hard and are willing to learn on the fly.

“They obviously have some really good players, and they’re super well-coached, as well-coached as anybody in the state in my opinion," Scherz said. “They play really hard to get the job done.”

Next up, River Falls hosts No. 3 seed Oshkosh North. The Spartans will travel from all the way across the state Friday with a trip to the State semifinals on the line.

“They’re kind of a lot like us in terms of what they do. They have a great quarterback with some really good skill players and a good running back, physical defense,” Scherz said.

Coming from all the way on the east side of Wisconsin, there is not much for opponent comparison, but the Spartans did take down New Richmond 42-36 in their playoff game Friday and are 10-1 on the year. River Falls lost 23-6 to the Tigers midway through the regular season. Scherz said any team that can have that type of scoring output against New Richmond is one to watch out for.