In a game played in a steady light rain and chilly temperatures which made everything slick, Wilmington seemed to have little trouble dealing with the elements in Saturday night’s Class 2A second round playoff game at Seneca.

The Wildcats, which didn’t have a fumble or throw a pass, rushed 54 times for 418 yards, while also holding the Fighting Irish to just 42 total yards, including 24 yards on 21 carries.

The end result was a 42-0 win for Wilmington (10-1), which will host Tri-Valley, a 24-17 upset winner over top seed Rockridge, next week in the quarterfinals.

Seneca closes the season at 10-1.

“Now that you say that, wow, we didn’t have a fumble,” said Wilmington coach Jeff Reents. “With the conditions they were here tonight that’s unbelievable. We were fortunate to hang on the ball like we did and on the flip side we were able to take advantage of a couple Seneca turnovers. To be in the conditions we were tonight and for our kids to play like they did I’m really happy for them.”

On the opening drive of the game, Seneca advanced from its 33 to the Wildcats’ 31 before a loss on downs.

On Wilmington’s fifth play, Nate Cupples found the end zone from 25 yards out.

The visitors forced a 3-and-out, then drove 76 yards on 12 plays, the last an 18-yard scoring dash by Ryan Kettman to make 12-0 early in the second quarter.

“We were able to keep drives sustained offensively and also able to contain them defensively which together kept their offense off the field,” said Reents, his squad holding a 33:09 to 14:51 time of possession margin and running 54 plays compared to Seneca’s 25. “It seemed like we had the ball on offense for a large portion of the game. I just thought we played very well on both sides of the ball.”

Cupples then recovered a fumble at the Irish 24 and five plays later he scored on a 10 run, a two-point conversion run by Kettman making it 20-0.

After forcing a punt, Wilmington made it 28-0 on Hunter Kaitschuk’s 6-yard TD run with seven seconds left before halftime.

“That is easily the best team we played this season,” said Seneca coach Terry Maxwell, his team entering the contest averaging running for over 300 yards a game. “It’s hard to slow them down and hard to move the ball against them. It’s going to take a really good team to beat them.

“Wilmington got off the ball well defensively and flowed to the ball wherever we were trying to run it. Our first drive was encouraging, but then our second drive with the three straight fumbles really took us out of rhythm. No fault of any of our guys, the conditions made things tough for us to hold on to the ball. I mean it’s a slick mess out here. So, for Wilmington to be able to do the things they did tonight on both sides is very impressive.

“This is a team that went toe-to-toe with (Class) 4A Morris to start the season and did what they did to Coal City in Week 9. You watch them on film and it’s tough to find weaknesses. Coach Reents and his staff have built something that is truly impressive.”

Wilmington took the opening possession of the second half 75 yards on eight plays with quarterback Billy Moore recording the final eight yards for the TD.

After forcing another punt, the Wildcats closed out the scoring a minute into the fourth quarter on a 44-yard keeper by backup QB Brysen Meents.

Kaitschuk led Wilmington with nine carries for 87 yards, followed by Moore (10-85), Kettman (9-63), Cupples (4-48), Brysen Meents (5-45), Dane Duyne (8-43) and Jay Nevels (6-32).

Seneca, which is 40-5 over the past four seasons under Maxwell, was led by 20 yards rushing on four tries and 10 tackles by Cam Shriey, and 18 yards passing by Gunner Varland.

“The 19 seniors on the team this season have been a special group,” Maxwell said. “They’ve not only grown over the last four years as football players but as men. They played hard to the end tonight. I’m super proud of each and every one of them.”