OAK LAWN — Richards defensive back Anthony Perry made sure Peoria's high-octane offense could never quite find its football and rhythm on Friday night.

And Leshon Williams took care of the rest.

Williams ran for 306 yards and three touchdowns while Perry picked off two passes including a 101-yard interception return that turned the tide of the game as Richards collected a 42-34 victory over Peoria in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.

The win lifts Richards into the quarterfinals where it will play either East St. Louis or Rock Island. Those two teams will do battle on Saturday. Peoria closed its season with a 9-2 record.

The Lions brought the state's most prolific offense to Oak Lawn, fresh off a 78-point outburst in the opening round of the playoffs last week in a win over Shepard, and right from the drop they appeared poised to flex those offensive muscles again.

Peoria needed just three plays to score on a 63-yard touchdown pass connection between Izaiah Haslett and Gabe Hernandez. But Richards was prepared for a potential shootout and needed only four plays to respond getting a 19-yard touchdown run from Williams.

It looked like the ping pong ball was going to keep bouncing back and forth between the two teams as Peoria pieced together a lengthy drive. But just as the Lions appeared poised to score again, Perry stepped in front of the Peoria receiver just beyond the goal line, corralled the interception and sped away from a number of Peoria pursuants for a 101-yard interception return.

"I knew I was going to get that ball," Perry said of jumping the route. "I knew they were coming at me. I was going up against some guy, my teammates told me he was going D-1, trying to scare me. I was ready."

It was only a few minutes later when Williams capped a quick Richards drive with a 12-yard touchdown run. Williams, an Iowa recruit, had only recently returned from a lengthy absence due to an ankle injury. It was his second game back playing last week in Richards opening round win over Washington.

"I'm at about 80 percent," Williams said after the game. "I was a little winded last week, but it was just like back to normal this week."

And if Williams effort was indeed "normal", fear for opponents if he can get closer to 100 percent in future outings. A terrifying blend of power and speed, if Peoria defenders weren't beat from the get-go they usually found themselves going for a little of a bit a ride as Williams churned out additional yards.

Even so, a strange twist of events still gave Peoria hope at the end of the first quarter. Another lengthy Lion drive was squelched out by a fumble, only to be given new hope as Richards fumbled it right back to them on the next play. Peoria's Davion Allen crashed in from the 2-yard line to pull the Lions within 21-12.

And midway through the second quarter Peoria inched even closer, scoring on a 40-yard touchdown from Kaevion Mack and the two-point conversion inched them to within 21-20.

But as they did all night, Richards had an almost immediate response. A few Williams runs softened up the Peoria defense to the pass, where Damian Evans hauled in a 19-yard score to allow Richards to carry a 28-20 lead into the break.

It was a surprisingly uneventful third quarter, but a quick strike in the early portion of the fourth quarter as Mack and Hernandez combined forces again and this time a successful two-point conversion tied the game at 28.

But then it was Williams time to shine as a long run set the stage perfectly for a pop pass to a wide open Alex Marchione put Richards back in front. And then Williams cemented it minutes later when Richards got the ball back off an interception, handed the ball off to Williams three times, including a 40-yard jaunt, scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Bulldogs up two scores.

Peoria would pull within a touchdown on an Allen short touchdown run with 2:31 to play, but Richards was able to salt away the win with even more powerful work from Williams.

"That's the man," Richards coach Tony Sheehan said. "He steps up when needed. Thank God he's on our side. He might be the best who has ever toted the ball around here."