It certainly won’t be easy for the Springfield Tigers to make another trip to the state final — with only one public school in Mahoning Valley history going in back-to-back seasons (Warren Western Reserve in 1972 and 1973).

Winning another four (or five) games is no easy task, even though the Tigers have made winning look easy thus far.

Springfield, coming off a 14-1 campaign that ended with a 48-14 loss to Anna in the state final, has outscored its opponents 322 to 59 in going 7-0. The Tigers haven’t trailed yet this year, and their closest game was last week’s 35-7 Division VI, Region 21 second-round win over Western Reserve, which scored its only touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

Tigers coach Sean Guerriero knows things only get tougher from here on out, and it starts with an athletically gifted St. Thomas Aquinas team at 7 p.m., Saturday.

The Knights (5-2) have won five straight after starting 0-2. They’re led by do-it-all wide receiver/running back/quarterback A’Sian Burt — a 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior standout. The 2019 All-Ohio wide receiver is coming off a 200-yard rushing performance against Trinity.

“They have some unbelievable playmakers,” Guerriero said. “(Burt) is a great athlete. He’s a wideout who they run jet sweeps with. He’s a kick returner-punt returner, and he is smooth. He’s very elusive, but he’s a strong runner. He can go up and catch the ball. He’s a good one.”

He and Aquinas could be a nice test for a Springfield team that hasn’t seen one yet this year.

The Knights boast a unique challenge. Guerriero said they played “three or four” quarterbacks in last week’s 42-26 victory over Trinity. Aquinas possesses several players with speed and agility, and the Knights try to get them the ball in a variety of ways — including putting them in shotgun.

“With those athletes, I think they just kind of throw them back there, let them catch the ball and run around,” Guerriero said. “I’m not saying they’re not running schemes, but they just kind of let these kids catch the ball and go and use their athleticism to make plays. They have a ton of athletes.”

The Tigers have quite a few as well.

Led by junior quarterback Beau Brungard, Springfield is averaging just over 200 yards passing per game to go along with 178.6 yards rushing. Brungard is the catalyst.

He has completed 86-of-125 passes (68 percent) for 1,323 yards and 16 touchdowns. He has yet to throw an interception. The dual-threat QB also leads the Tigers in rushing with 377 yards and nine TDs. Brungard has plenty of help, too.

Seven players have caught touchdown passes. Clay Medvec leads in receptions (26) and yards (396). Lucas Yemma has 10 catches, and four have gone for TDs. Nick Slike adds 15 grabs, 211 yards and two TDs.

Clayton Nezbeth is second in rushing with 351 yards and eight TDs, and two others have more than 100 yards on the ground. It’s an embarrassment of riches for the No. 4-ranked Division VI team in the AP Poll.

“We want to play our game,” Guerriero said. “With our advantage of the amount of kids that we play, trying to pick up the tempo and trying to wear on some kids is a benefit for us. … That’s one thing that’s pretty unique for us is we can come out in a five-wide set, or we can come out in a double-tight (end), two-back set. Those are the things that we work on to make sure we’re using multiple formations.”

It has worked for quite a while.

The Tigers have just one loss in their last 27 games (the state championship). Oh, and their defense is pretty good too. It hasn’t allowed anyone to score more than 18 points this season.

Their dominance does have Guerriero a little curious as to how his team will react if they’re in a close game.

“You try to simulate that stuff, but I don’t know if you’ll ever know how they’ll react to adversity until you’re in it,” he said. “… We have had some situations where our kids have had to step up and make a play, and they have done that.”