The Maize Eagles looked every part of their #1 ranking, as they began the first round of the 5A State Football Playoffs with a 63-0 win over Salina South.

The Eagles scored on a 55-yard touchdown pass from Avery Johnson to Bryce Cohoon on the first play from scrimmage, and never looked back, adding seven more on a pick six by Mackinley Joynes made it 14-0 Maize less than a minute into the game.

Playing without a handful of starters, an already struggling South team just couldn’t get it going, as they didn’t reach a first down until late in the contest.

Maize would add to the scoring totals with relative ease all throughout the first quarter, leading 42-0 at the end of the opening stanza. They would lead 56-0 at halftime, and with the running clock active throughout the entire second half, Maize would win 63-0.

South finishes the season at 0-9, having lost their last 15 games dating back to last season. Maize improves to 9-0 and advances to the second round of the 5A State Playoffs. They will host the Kapaun Mount Carmel Crusaders next week.

South High Junior RB/LB Dillon Chartier earned the Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game honor, while Senior Offensive Tackle Jesse Vorarath earned the H&R Block of the game nod.