Pawnee powers past Cashion 40-13 in Class A quarterfinals

Pawnee ran into the state semifinals last Friday by ending Cashion’s season in a 40-13 quarterfinal victory.

Playing on their home field, the Black Bears ran for 412 yards and didn’t attempt a single pass in winning for the ninth straight time.

Cashion’s season ended with an 8-4 record.

Pawnee lost its first three games of the season, but hadn’t been tested since beginning district play or in the first round of the playoffs.

The Black Bears carried that momentum into Round 2 as they racked up 22 first downs and doubled up Cashion in time of possession.

They got their five rushing touchdowns from four different players.

Cale McPeek put Pawnee on the board in the first quarter with a 34-yard run.

The Black Bears extended their lead to 16-0 on Grady Mittasch’s 15-yard run in the second.

That’s when Cashion showed some of its big-play ability.

Quarterback Kellen Smith hit Grayson Davis for a 64-yard touchdown to pull the Wildcats within a score.

However, the momentum didn’t continue.

Casey Tucker’s 55-yard touchdown run, followed by Mittasch’s two-point conversion run, gave the home team a 24-6 halftime lead.

Pawnee got two touchdown runs out of Luke Mitchell in the second half, one from 26 yards and another from 12, to pull away. Jayden Bolton scored on a 2-yard run for Cashion in the fourth quarter.

It was the first time in seven weeks that a team had scored twice on Pawnee.

Bolton managed 123 rushing yards on 12 carries.

Smith threw for 106 yards on 5 of 19 passing.

Davis caught five passes for 106 yards.

The sophomore also had 10 tackles on defense.

Kaleb Duran led the team with 15 stops while Juan Melendez had 11.

Of Cashion’s four losses, two are to teams - Hooker and Pawnee - that are in this week’s semifinals. A third loss was to two-time defending state champion Fairview, which lost to Rejoice Christian in the quarterfinals.