Lackawanna's Amir Douglas attempts to get away from Southwestern's Cameron Lemk during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal in Lackawanna. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

LACKAWANNA — Anchored by brothers Sunday and Sammy Ikegwuonu, Lackawanna has a stout offensive line.

So when the second-seeded Steelers got the ball back with just over nine minutes remaining in Saturday afternoon’s Section VI Class C quarterfinal against No. 7 Southwestern, head coach Adam Tardiff knew just what his team needed to do.

Run the ball to run out the clock.

Lackawanna marched 86 yards in 13 plays, capped by Antwan Threeths’ second touchdown of the game as the Steelers beat the Trojans 30-14 to advance to next weekend’s semifinals against No. 3 Salamanca.

“We wanted to run some clock. If we scored, that was a bonus,” said Tardiff, who estimated it’s been more than a decade since Lackawanna hosted a playoff game. “You have to give all of the credit to our offensive line, the fullback, the tight end, everybody blocking.”

A host of Southwestern tacklers attempt to bring down Lackawanna's Antwan Threeths during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal in Lackawanna. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Threeths finished with 21 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns while Amir Douglas added 14 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown.

“We had to run the football and control the game that way,” Tardiff added.

Southwestern struggled to put together consistent drives all day. The Trojans totaled just 144 yards of offense and 139 of them came on four plays that essentially created their two scoring drives.

“They’re big. We made some adjustments and were able to make some things happen,” Southwestern head coach Jake Burkholder said. “At the end of the day, they’re a very good team. Our guys came up and left everything on the table.”

Trojans junior quarterback Jameson Walsh threw for 107 yards and two touchdowns while senior Matt Pannes ran for 50 yards, but 42 came on one long run.

Lackawanna quarterback Billy Gechell looks for room to run during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal against Southwestern in Lackawanna. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Southwestern stopped Lackawanna’s first drive of the game at the 1-yard line and the Steelers’ second at the 25-yard line, but the hosts broke through midway through the second quarter when Threeths powered in for a score from 5 yards out for an 8-0 lead after Threeths also added the 2-point conversion.

After not being able to run the ball for nearly the entire first half, the Trojans found some success in the passing game. On third-and-10 from their own 25-yard line, Walsh connected with Brody Larson for a 39-yard gain. Two plays later, the same pair hooked up again for a 33-yard completion before Walsh threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Chris Miller with 4:17 left in the second quarter. Neves Hoose added the point-after kick to make it 8-7.

“They have a very explosive offense,” Tardiff said. “We knew that coming in.”

On the next play from scrimmage, Threeths ran up the middle for 49 yards to the Southwestern 26-yard line. Four plays later, on fourth-and-18 from the 28-yard line, Lackawanna quarterback Billy Gechell completed his longest pass of the game for 22 yards to Javar Davis for a first down. The Trojans looked like they might come up with another stop just before halftime, but Gechell completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to Shyheim Smalls as the clock expired to make it 14-7 at the break.

“That’s a momentum killer. If we get a stop there, we go in 8-7. That definitely changes things,” Burkholder said. ” … It kind of takes some wind out of the sails for us when the last play of the half is a score.”

Southwestern's Jameson Walsh throws a touchdown pass to Chris Miller during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal in Lackawanna. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

“Our offensive coordinator called a great play. A couple of times we went back and forth, but he called a great play,” Tardiff said. “We used motion, came across and hit the corner behind him. Smalls has been with me for four years as well. … We have all the confidence in the world in our quarterback and the receivers.”

Southwestern forced a three-and-out on the Steelers’ first drive of the second half, but on the Trojans’ first play from scrimmage, Walsh was intercepted by Jeremy Perez at the Southwestern 47-yard line. Thirteen plays later, Douglas scored on a 2-yard run to make it 22-7 after Gechell tacked on the 2-point conversion.

“We kept the ball out of the hands of a highly explosive offense,” Tardiff said. “As a coach and as a team, you want the ball.”

On its next drive, Southwestern struck quickly as Pannes ran for 42 yards before Walsh threw a 25-yard touchdown to Miller on the next play to make it 22-14 after another Hoose PAT.

“He’s matured throughout the year and gotten better at making those reads, and being able to execute that type of play,” Burkholder said of Walsh. “That’s what his skill set is. He’s a mobile guy. He’s able to make things happen with his feet and his arm. On that touchdown, he was able to show both of those.”

Southwestern's Matt Pannes tries to run away from Lackawanna's Antwan Threeths during Saturday's Section VI Class C quarterfinal in Lackawanna. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

But the Trojans were forced to punt on fourth-and-11 from their own 41-yard line early in the fourth quarter and never got the ball back until they were down 16 with just over two minutes remaining.

“We didn’t let them rip off a big play, they just kept getting first downs and chewing the clock,” Burkholder said. “That left us with very little time to make some things happen.”

Now the Steelers will host a Salamanca team that they beat 14-0 in last season’s quarterfinals.

“We drove down there on a Friday night. It was a knock-down, drag-out battle, but that was last year,” Tardiff said. “They have a great running back in (Jesse) Stahlman, a good quarterback, a good defense. Having a home playoff game was our goal. … We got two now; it’s great.”

Southwestern 0 7 7 0 — 14

Lackawanna 0 14 8 6 — 30

Lac–Threeths 5 run (Threeths run)

Sou–Miller 3 pass from Walsh (Hoose kick)

Lac–Smalls 4 pass from Gechell (run failed)

Lac–Douglas 2 run (Gechell run)

Sou–Miller 25 pass from Walsh (Hoose kick)

Lac–Threeths 8 run (Threeths run)