The opening two possessions set the tone in Saturday’s Class 1A football playoff game between Dwight and Stockon at John O’Boyle Field in Stockton.

The host Blackhawks’ defense forced a three-and-out, the used nine straight running plays to go 55 yards and scored the first of six touchdowns in a 44-0 victory.

Stockton (11-0), which has now allowed just three points in three playoff games, will host Lena-Winslow next weekend in a semifinal. The Blackhawks won the Week 2 match-up between the teams 38-14.

Dwight, which ended the season for the second straight season in the quarterfinals, finished 8-4.

“I feel like half of this game is about being strong and playing physical and the other half is about the scheme, execution, and doing all the little things correctly,” Dwight head coach Luke Standiford said. “We knew they were going to play a 3-4 defense, so the plan was to hopefully have some success running the ball up the middle. We struggled finding space as their linebackers did a great job of filling any seams quickly. We just weren’t able to get the combos we needed up front.”

Dwight finished the game with 42 rushes for 125 yards and were led by Evan Cox’s 11 carries for 44 yards, followed by Jake Wilkey (4-41), Tysen Walker (5-26) and Ayden Collom (14-25).

Stockton was led by senior running back Jack Mensendike, who had those first nine carries and finished with 158 yards on 20 carries and three touchdowns.

After a Trojans interception and punt, Mensendike scored from 33 and 7 yards out to give his team a 22-0 lead at halftime.

“The number one thing we talked about this week leading up to this game was that we had to be the more physical team in every aspect,” Stockton head coach Sean Downey said. “The style we play is what you saw here tonight, just trying to get downhill hill on teams offensively and then doing what we can to stop the team’s run game. We play in a conference where you have to do those things to not only be in games but to win them.

“We did a great job throughout the game tonight, but those first two possessions on offense and defense really set the tone for us.”

Stockton opened the second half with a TD run by Mark Detwiler from the four, then after another INT, QB Moah Larson (5-of-9, 92 yards) found Eli Larson for a 16-yard scoring pass to make it 38-0.

Stockton closed out the scoring late in the third with Carter Blair sprinting for an 82-yard TD. Blair finished with six carries for exactly 100 yards.

For the contest, the Blackhawks rushed for 306 yards on 39 tries.

Dwight started the season at 2-3, dropping consecutive games to Shelbyville, Marquette and Seneca before winning six straight before Saturday’s season-ending loss.

“We hit that three-game losing streak early in the season and it was tough on everyone in the program,” Standiford said. “We as coaches were trying to figure out this team’s identity and what we could do to get back on track.

“A big part too was we had lost Evan Cox to an injury in Week 1 and he came back in Week 6 after those three losses. He is our best football player and when he got back on the field it was like our whole team changed. He makes us better.

“We were able to snap that losing streak and the confidence just grew with each week. We started to find our groove and kept the momentum going from there.

“This was a great group that left everything out there. I couldn’t be prouder of each and every one of them.”