WARNER – Warner was firing on all cylinders on Thursday night.

The top-seeded Monarchs cruised past Colman-Egan 57-0 for an opening round win in the Class 9A football playoffs.

Warner coach Kerwin Hoellein said his team came into the game prepared to compete.

“I thought our kids were well prepared,” Hoellein said. “This wasn’t your typical 16 seed. They played a good schedule and they’re well-coached. We’ve played these guys before in the Dome, so we know they’re well-coached, but I thought our kids stepped up. I think for the most part we were very prepared for tonight, and the kids just carried out the plan.”

Warner’s plan took effect on its first offensive play. After stopping Colman-Egan on downs, Monarchs running back Hunter Cramer took the first snap and zig-zagged 50 yards for the opening score. Cramer would run the ball just three times, but scored on every carry, totaling 116 yards.

“It feels great, especially when you know the blocking’s working,” Cramer said. “The gameplan’s going, we’re getting the job. I mean, it’s a great feeling when you can score on every touch.”

On Colman-Egan’s next possession, Warner defensive back Devon Fischbach intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown, extending the Monarchs lead to 15-0. Charlie Dulany then added a 3-yard run before Cramer cashed in his second touchdown with a 33-yard run to cap off a 29-point first quarter.

Dulany rushed for 18 yards on just four carries, but also tallied three rushing touchdowns of his own.

“I haven’t got that many touches this year, so to get back on that grind with the ball is just amazing,” Dulany said. “But I can’t really do that without my blockers and everybody getting down the field and connecting with everyone, so I got to thank my line and all of them.”

The Warner defense also played a pivotal role in the game, sacking Colman-Egan quarterback Jack Mousel four times. Defensive lineman Preston Cavalier recorded two sacks and added a fumble recovery to lead the defensive effort.

Cavalier said he feels the defense has hit its peak at the right time of the season.

“I feel like our defense played 100 percent tonight,” Cavalier said. “We played better than we did all season long.”

Cramer scored his third touchdown early in the second quarter, followed by Dulany and Jesiah Baum scoring rushing touchdowns. Dulany then added the final score to put an exclamation point on the first-round victory, ending the game at halftime due to the 50-point mercy rule.

Hoellein gave credit to the offensive and defensive lines for leading the charge in the win.

“We kind of thought going into the game the advantage we had probably was our line,” Hoellein said. “They’ve got some decent skill kids, but you know, coaches will tell you all the time that games are won on the line, and tonight was probably a prime example of that.”

Warner (9-0) will now host Castlewood next Thursday in the quarterfinal round of the 9A playoffs. The Monarchs beat the Warriors earlier in the season, 67-16, although Hoellein said it will be a challenge for his team.

“We’ll see a Castlewood team that we played earlier,” Hoellein said. “And we won that game kind of handily, but they didn’t have a kid play that week. It’s playoff time. They might be taking some chances and trying to put a couple of new wrinkles in. We’ve just got to prepare and it’s the next opponent.”

Colman-Egan (2-7) 0 0 – 0

Warner (9-0) 29 28 – 57

First Quarter

W – Hunter Cramer 50 run (Alec Mikkelsen kick), 7:21

W – Devon Fischbach 23 pass interception return (Cramer pass to Jesiah Baum), 6:31

W – Charlie Dulany 3 run (Mikkelsen kick), 5:18

W – Cramer 33 run (Mikkelsen kick), 2:08

Second Quarter

W – Cramer 33 run (Mikkelsen kick), 10:49

W – Dulany 1 run (Mikkelsen kick), 7:10

W – Baum 14 run, 5:38

W – Dulany 11 run (Drew Bakeberg pass to Dulany), 3:35

OFFENSE: Colman-Egan, rushing 28-64 (Hayden Pearson 8-41, Jonny Keyes 9-34), passing 3-11-1 for 18 (Jase Mousel 1-1-0 for 16), receiving (Pearson 2-17); Warner, rushing 15-209 (Hunter Cramer 3-116, Jesiah Baum 5-60, Charlie Dulany 4-18), passing 2-3-0 for 27 (Cramer 2-3-0 for 27), receiving (Chays Mansfield 1-20, Brodey Sauerwein 1-7).

DEFENSE: Warner, Preston Cavalier two sacks, fumble recovery, Sauerwein sack, Alex Pudwill sack, Devon Fischbach interception.