That success continued Saturday with a 48-8 win over St. Thomas Aquinas in the Division VI, Region 21 regional quarterfinals.

“I thought our kids came out with a lot of intensity,” Tigers coach Sean Guerriero said. “Just knowing that stuff that we worked out, not giving up the big play, having solid special teams play, and the offense which you’ve got to be consistent and work that ground game to open up some things in the air. I thought our kids handled the week extremely well.”

The Tigers took advantage of the short field after forcing an Aquinas punt, getting on the board with a 5-yard run by Austin Tindell.

That lead only grew as the night went on, with Dante Argiro forcing a safety on a blocked punt right after Springfield’s first score.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Springfield’s Beau Brungard escapes an Aquinas defender in the Tigers’ win on Saturday.

Beau Brungard scored on a 5-yard rush to further extend the Tiger lead to 16-0 after the first quarter.

“I think we came out from the start,” Brungard said. “We were ready to play, we had the advantage, we’re feeling really good. Our line played really great and they gave us some good holes to run through and I think we executed well.”

Springfield continued to put points on the board with Brungard once again scoring, this time from the 1-yard line.

The Tigers scored one last touchdown in the second quarter to go up 30-0 and force a running clock after halftime. Lukas Yemma caught a 41-yard pass from Brungard to extend the lead.

Yemma set up the possession by breaking up an Aquinas pass, then on the following play, intercepted the ball deep in the backfield.

The second half was more of the same story as Brungard broke off two more rushes, to score. Brungard scored off a 52-yard rush in the third, and juked his way to a 28-yard touchdown in the fourth.

The junior quarterback finished the night with 117 yards on the ground and threw for an additional 115 yards.

The shutout was broken on the final score of the game as Knights backup quarterback Daveion Cruse hit sophomore Trey Foster on a 65-yard pass to score.

While a ton of attention this season has gone to the Tiger offense, Guerriero wants to extend some of that attention to the other side of the ball that has held every team they’ve faced this season to under 20 points.

Clayton Nezbeth finished the game with five tackles and assisted on two more.

“I think we’ve got a tough defense,” Guerriero said. “I think a lot of people talk about our offense, but I think our defense is playing extremely well so you want to continue to get wins and try to get better every week.”

After beating Pymatuning Valley in their quarterfinal matchup, Mogadore will travel to Springfield (8-0) on Halloween in the regional semifinals.

“I think they’re excited with home field advantage and everything else that kind of gets tied up with it,” Guerriero said. “I think our kids are ready to go in and are ready for the challenge.”

While ready for the challenge, Brungard knows the Wildcats are going to bring their best, but thinks his team will come out prepared for the test.

“Every year they’re going to be a good team,” he said. “They’re really good every year so we’re gonna prepare well for them and I think we’re gonna be ready.”