MINOOKA – Slow torture.

That’s what Minooka calls it when they’re able to methodically move the chains and keep the opponent’s offense off the field.

The top-seeded Indians showed Edwardsville exactly what they meant by torture.

“We take the ball and incrementally move the chains and run the clock down,” Minooka coach John Belskis said. “Their offense has to sit on the sideline and watch us go score. There’s nothing they can do about it. We’ve done that on many occasions this year. The kids take pride in that. We call that our power team. Even our fans get into it now. When our power team comes in, they start yelling for it.”

Minooka grinded out 15 first downs in the second half and cruised to a 34-17 win Saturday. The Indians earned a berth in the quarterfinals.

The Indians cruised in the second half, but the first half was a much tougher grind.

“It’s like a chess game. You go in and see they’re putting their guys here and we have to do this or that. Our coaches made some great adjustments at halftime,” Belskis said. “We put our kids in a position where they could execute. Credit goes to them. I can call anything I want, but if it’s not executed it won’t be successful. These kids were tremendous tonight and I’m so proud of them.”

Minooka’s three-headed rushing monster of Noah Ellens, Seth Lehr and Conner Etzkorn made it so Edwardsville didn’t get a lot of time with the ball. Ellens scored a pair of touchdowns, a 24-yarder in the first quarter and a 3-yard scamper to salt the game away late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 106 yards rushing. Lehr, the quarterback, rushed for two scores in the game and passed for another, hitting Michael Zito for a 14-yard score on third down. Etzkorn picked up several key first downs and finished with 27 yards on the ground in four carries.

Minooka’s defense was just as dominant as its offense in the second half, holding the Tigers scoreless, and it was able to get a big fourth down stop late in the third quarter. Ernesto Ramirez had a pair of interceptions, including one that set up the Indians in the red zone. The defense against star running back Justin Johnson Jr. should be commended. The Indians held him to 62 yards on the ground and the Tiger offense managed only three first downs in the second half.

“We don’t have that kind of talent here,” Belskis said about Johnson. “I’m being honest here we don’t. But, individuals can make plays but teams win games.”

The solid all-around effort could have been the result of remembering a loss Edwardsville put on the Indians two seasons ago.

“[We’re] So excited,” Ellens said. “Losing to them two years ago, we wanted to come out here and put on a show and I think that’s what we did. We were perfect on offense and had great drives. That gave us the momentum to win the game.”