Stroud set a dominating tone early against Warner Friday night, driving 71 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown on the opening possession.
That gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead they never relinquished en route to an 18-0 win in the first round of the playoffs.
“Every week we‘ve gotten better,” said coach Josh Presley “We had some good teams in our district, so our guys have been battle-tested and they’ve responded.
“Fourteen plays - that’s always a point of emphasis to control the ball. The big thing is we were able to sustain drives and didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot.
“Keep moving the chains and grind it out.”
Stroud scored in each of the first three quarters as the offensive line of Easton Stewart, Stetson Bunyard, Ty Stafford, Chandler Davis, Leo Neuman, Kyle Guest and Brady Nichols imposed its will on the Eagles.
“Our offensive line was really physical,” Presley said. “Our guys were able to control the line of scrimmage and knocked them off the ball.
“Our backs ran physical and Dylan Baker had great game at quarterback. He handled the pressure all night and did a good job.
Zeb Blancarte ran behind the line for an 11-yard in the first quarter, Baker hit Bryce Hughey for a 14-yard touch down pass in the second quarter and Kason Presley ran 11 yards for a score in the third.
That was more than enough margin for the Tigers’ defense, which held Warner to 99 yards for the night. In the second half, Stroud permitted Warner just 14 snaps and held them a negative-14 yards.
“Our defensive line had a great pass rush all night long and we were able to get pressure on the quarterback rushing three or four guys,” Presley said. “The inside linebackers played fast and played downhill.”
Now it’s off to Morrison Friday, where the Tigers will face an 8-3 squad that knocked off Oklahoma Union, 42-16, last week.
“They’ve a really good team and a great program and history, just like we do,” Presley said. “We’re looking forward to it - two great programs going at it in the playoffs.
“It will be an electric atmosphere.”