There are three phases in football. If a team can prevail in two of them, there is a strong likelihood it will win.

But all three?

Then you get what happened in Lockport on Saturday evening, a 35-0 Porters’ victory over third-seeded Barrington in a Class 8A quarterfinal.

Lockport, the No. 23 seed, used a 54-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown early in the first quarter by junior strong safety Darrell McCullough to set the tone. A key interception by junior cornerback Jake Manzo in the third quarter killed a Barrington drive on the Porters’ 29-yard line.

And all along, a steady diet of gash runs by a pair of seniors – running back Chris Miller and quarterback Brendan Mecher – kept Lockport’s offense chugging along. Mecher had 131 yards rushing and three touchdowns, while Miller contributed 90 yards and a score.

For Lockport coach George Czart, it was his team’s focus all week that made the difference.

“There was no goofing around. It was all serious preparation all week long,” said Czart, whose team improved to 9-3 and will play at Oswego next Saturday in an 8A semifinal. “Our kids knew what they were going up against, and we said, ‘If you were saving it for anytime, this is the game to save it for.’ ”

Czart said he and his staff noticed a potential three-on-two opportunity on punt coverage earlier in the week and added a play Friday just in case. Barrington’s opening drive stalled at the Lockport 41, and McCullough snuck through to block the punt. The ball bounced into his hands, and he was off and running.

“We were talking about it, it was something new, just switching it up,” McCullough said of that new play. “It just all happened so fast. I looked back a couple of times.”

Barrington coach Joe Sanchez agreed that play was problematic for the Broncos early.

“No doubt about it,” he said. “Certainly it sets you off on the wrong foot. That wasn’t the way you want to start the game. But you know what, we were able to move the ball, but against a great team over there, you can’t make the mistakes we made tonight.”

Offensively for Barrington (10-2), speedy sophomore running back Lamar Osterhues led his team with 47 yards rushing, while senior quarterback Luke Tepas added 69 and also went 7-for-18 passing, but got picked off twice. That included Manzo’s interception with 5:19 left in the third quarter, his first of the season.

“When I saw the quarterback let it go, it looked like one of our linebackers tipped it,” Manzo said.

As for Mecher, he agreed with Czart that the key was focus during the week, but that blocked punt for a touchdown gave him reassurance even before he took the field on offense.

“That really set the tone,” he said. “Something like that coming out of special teams enabling us to get seven on the board, that’s huge. They don’t happen too often, but it’s good to take advantage of them when they do.”

It was an unfortunate end to the high school career of Barrington senior left tackle Owen Fors, a three-year starter who is committed to Northwestern. He lingered on the field postgame, tears in his eyes.

What’s he going to remember most about high school football?

“This season, we never stopped playing,” he said. “I’m so proud of all my teammates.”