Morris can score in a hurry.

The No. 2 seed proved that Friday night, putting up 25 points in less than 5 minutes before halftime on its way to a 54-7 win against Woodstock in the opening round of the IHSA Class 4A playoffs.

After a two-yard touchdown pass from Brady Varner to Logan Sparrow broke a 7-7 tie, Keegan Kjellesvik scored on a 3-yard run, Quaid Phillips scored on a 48-yard pass from Varner, and Varner rushed one in of his own from eight yards, all while the Morris defense held Woodstock to consecutive three-and-outs.

In a matter of minutes, the game was well in hand for Morris.

“I didn’t like the start,” Morris coach Alan Thorson said. “Once we figured things out, I love how we played three of the four quarters. But to win in the playoffs, you’ve got to play good four of four.”

The Blue Streaks (5-5) found the end zone first Friday. After holding Morris’ offense twice to punts, they completed an 11-play, 81-yard drive, capping it off with a 33-yard touchdown pass from Caden Thompson to Cash White.

“We decided we were going to come down here and be a bunch of pitbulls and never give up,” said Woodstock coach Mike Brasile. “That’s what we did.”

Morris (9-1) answered with its own 13-play, 61-yard drive, featuring five carries from Caeden Curran for 27 yards, including the one-yard score.

“I think once we realized it means more, we just got more intense and just demoralized the other team,” Curran said. “We just got more intensity and you could definitely see it towards the end of the game.”

Following their lone score, the Blue Streaks didn’t get a first down. As Morris added touchdowns on a 37-yard run from Curran, a 52-yard run from Anthony Smith and a 19-yard run from Romero Zdanwic in the second half, the defense was in complete lockdown mode. Owen Olson and Brady Knezevich added interceptions.

“I thought our defense, outside of the opening touchdown, played tremendous,” Thorsen said. “We try to bring a lot of pressure and just different looks to try to confuse the opposing offense. Coach (Ryan) Clauson, our defensive coordinator, game planned these guys extremely well.”

Thompson finished 8 of 27 for 94 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Blue Streaks.

Brasile said he was proud of his team, especially the seniors, for making the playoffs for the first time in 16 years.

“It’s helped us raise the bar and having some freshmen and sophomores get in there,” Brasile said. “We started four sophomores on the offensive line (Friday) and two of them didn’t even know they were going to be playing. It was their first varsity snap, playing a playoff game, so I’m just really proud of our kids and really proud of the trajectory of our program.”

Curran carried the load for Morris, totaling 136 yards on 21 carries with a pair of touchdowns. Varner completed 11-of-16 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns.

For Morris, its sights will be set on improving in round two against Peoria Notre Dame, which defeated Marengo 35-21 in its opening round playoff matchup.

“The first drive, we’ve got to clean that up,” Varner said. “We’ve been coming out slow. We’ve got to come out faster on our first drive.”