STANBERRY, Mo. - Even after a plodding first half, Stanberry running back Conner Rosier had a feeling his Bulldogs were due for a big play or two.

His premonition proved correct shortly after the intermission, as Stanberry quickly ran away from Nodaway-Holt - 40-18 - during Friday night's 8-man quarterfinal contest in Stanberry.

It took the Bulldogs only one kickoff and two offensive plays from scrimmage to put two scores on the board and establish an all-but insurmountable lead. Stanberry then used a dominant rushing attack to chew up much of the clock and earn a second-straight trip to the semifinals.

"It was kind of frustrating," said Rosier, who managed two lengthy rushing scores in the game. "But I thought we'd be able to bounce it back. We knew we needed to pick it up right away."

After the resounding victory against the Trojans, Stanberry travels to Mound City next week for a grudge match against its Highway 275 Conference rivals.

The Bulldogs (10-1) had at least a couple reasons to be concerned entering the second half. Nodaway-Holt's big-play offense ripped off a couple big gains in the first half, while junior quarterback Tyler McQuinn looked shaky at times in his first start under center.

McQuinn was filling in for injured starter Jason McQuinn, his cousin who was out with a broken thumb.

Nursing a tenuous 14-6 lead, Tyler Conover soon put the home crowd at ease with a game-breaking play. The speedy sophomore took the kickoff at his own 3-yard line, found a seam along the sideline and burst 77 yards for a 13-second score.

Stanberry then forced the Trojans (5-6) into a quick three-and-out and needed only a pair of plays to reach then end zone again. Normally a running back, Rosier took a direct, shotgun snap on consecutive plays and gave the Bulldogs a three-score lead after his 30-yard touchdown scamper.

"Things didn't go our way. So we just said to shake it off, and they listened to us," Stanberry coach Dan Collins said.

Following a slow start, Rosier rolled in the second half of play and finished with a game-high 136 yards on 17 carries. Backfield teammate Devin Gage also hit triple digits - 20 carries for 114 yards - while McQuinn (11-76) also had some success in the option game.

In all, Stanberry rolled up more than 330 rushing yards.

Despite the deficit, the Trojans would not go away during their first playoff appearance in 14 seasons.

Junior Luke Coffelt set up Nodaway-Holt's second touchdown on a sack and fumble recovery of Tyler McQuinn deep in Stanberry territory. Two plays later, Patrick O'Riley bowled over the goal line and brought the score to 27-12 midway through the third quarter.

Nodaway-Holt coach Roy Noellsch, for one, expected his team to respond in such a way.

"We didn't catch the breaks that we wanted to," Noellsch said. "But I can't be more proud of our team for the efforts they've done over the past three years just to get us to this point."

But the Trojans' high-flying aerial attack never got off the ground against Stanberry's stingy defense. The quarterback duo of Carson Long and Blake Shamberger completed only 2 of 17 passes against the Bulldogs pesky secondary - only one of them for positive yardage.

The only Stanberry slip came late in the fourth quarter when Long found Shamberger downfield on a double-reverse pass that went for a 60-yard score. Other than that, the Bulldogs were almost flawless.

"Coverage-wise, I thought we were pretty decent," Collins said. "You can't complain. They played well enough to win the ball game."

Tyler McQuinn played well enough in his first game under center, completing half of his eight pass attempts for 55 yards and two scores to go with a solid rushing performance.

Stanberry hopes to get Jason McQuinn back next week for the rematch against the Panthers, who beat the Bulldogs during Week 4 in a 44-14 blowout.