WARNER – Warner continued its dominance in the playoffs on Thursday night.

The top-seeded Monarchs cruised past ninth-seeded Castlewood 56-0 in a Class 9A quarterfinal football game that featured a rain-soaked atmosphere.

Warner coach Kerwin Hoellein said the conditions forced the contest into a running affair.

“This time of year, you never know what you’re going to get handed as far as weather,” Hoellein said. “When it started raining earlier it kind of turned into a one-dimensional game for both sides.”

The Monarchs went to work on offense after stopping Castlewood on its first possession, capitalizing on a 20-yard run by Hunter Cramer to provide the first score. Hoellein knew his team had the size advantage up front entering the game.

“I thought coming into this game, we probably had a huge advantage on the line,” Hoellein said. “We were able to run the ball tonight, thank goodness, because it turned into a running game and not a passing game.”

Jesiah Baum scored his first of three touchdowns on a seven-yard run, before Cramer added his second of four scores to give Warner a commanding 20-0 lead after the first quarter.

Baum gave credit to the offensive line for making it possible to run the ball.

“When I took those sweeps or, like, the dive, I saw my line, they created beautiful holes for me, and I just have to get through and make that one guy miss, so it was all good from there,” Baum said.

Not only did Warner win the line of scrimmage, but Castlewood coach Doug Ruesink said self-inflicted mistakes added to his team’s problems during the game.

“We came ready to play. We had a few bad things happen at the start with the fumbles and it just kind of escalated,” Ruesink said. “I’ll use the cliché ‘the wheels fell off the bus.’”

Warner’s defensive pressure gave the Warriors problems throughout the contest, as the Monarchs finished with six sacks and put constant pressure on Castlewood quarterback Lane Tvedt. Ruesink said Warner’s defensive pressure made it difficult for the Warriors to build any momentum offensively.

“It was very difficult,” Ruesink said. “We had a tough time blocking at the line of scrimmage. That was one of the keys that we talked about going into the game. For us to try to throw the ball with the rain and stuff, it was just impossible.”

Alex Pudwill was one of the Monarchs who applied pressure in the Castlewood backfield.

Pudwill finished with a pair of sacks and said it was important for his team to apply pressure on Tvedt.

“It was very important, considering he’s their most dangerous player, I believe,” Pudwill said. “It was good to keep him contained.”

Warner poured on 36 points in the second quarter, with Cramer and Baum leading the way with two touchdowns each in the quarter, while Charlie Dulany also added a touchdown run, ending the game at halftime due to the mercy rule.

Despite the loss, Ruesink said his team improved throughout the season.

“We came a long way from start to finish,” Ruesink said. “We had a lot of injuries earlier and had some younger kids step up, but our seniors, they hung in there and they battled to the very end.”

Warner (10-0) will now look to prepare for the semifinal round, where it will host Canistota in a rematch of last season’s wild quarterfinal matchup that resulted in a 48-31 win for the Monarchs.

Baum said it will take several things to earn another trip to the DakotaDome.

“A lot of hard work, a lot of teamwork, a lot of time and preparation, and watching that film on Canistota,” Baum said.

Hoellein echoed Baum’s words and also noted that he is not surprised to see Canistota again.

“I knew we’d probably see them again sometime down the road,” Hoellein said. “They have that quarterback (Tage Ortman) back. He’s a good player, and we’ll just have to watch some film this week and prepare.”

Castlewood (5-5) 0 0 – 0

Warner (10-0) 20 36 – 56

First Quarter

W – Hunter Cramer 20 run, 5:58

W – Jesiah Baum 7 run, 2:30

W – Cramer 26 run (Cramer run), 0:34

Second Quarter

W – Cramer 5 run, 8:39

W – Charlie Dulany 2 run (Dulany run), 4:55

W – Baum 5 run (Baum run), 3:11

W – Baum 34 run, 2:49

W – Cramer 9 run (Baum run), 1:07

OFFENSE: Castlewood, rushing (Quincy Thu 2-5), passing 4-9-1 for 14 (Lane Tvedt 4-9-1 for 14); receiving (Camron Eng 1-6), first downs 1; Warner, rushing (Hunter Cramer 12-118, Jesiah Baum 10-109), passing 1-2-0 for 28 (Cramer 1-2-0 for 28), receiving (Baum 1-28), first downs 11.

DEFENSE: Warner, Chays Mansfield 6 tackles, 1 sack and 1 interception, Preston Cavalier 4 tackles and 2 sacks, Alex Pudwill 2 sacks, Brodey Sauerwein sack, Zachary Evans fumble recovery.