DAYTON — It took a while for West Side to find its groove against a solid Grangeville squad, but the Pirates finally put together the second half head coach Tyson Moser was hoping for.

West Side dominated on both sides of the ball after the half and earned a hard-fought 28-7 victory over the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the 2A state football playoffs on a windy and sometimes rainy Saturday afternoon at Lyle S. Henderson Field.

Top-seeded West Side (9-0) outscored No. 8 Grangeville 14-0 during the final two quarters, advanced the pigskin inside the red zone on two other occasions and enjoyed a commanding 228-39 edge in total offense after the break. As a result, the Pirates extended their winning streak to 19 games, which ties a program record.

“We responded very well,” Moser said. “You know, we had 16 days off (between games), and I actually didn’t realize it was quite that far until I counted it up a minute ago, but we played like we had 16 days off that first half. But, anyway, (our kids) overcame it, they regrouped and I thought you saw a much more regrouped, mature team in the second half, especially offensively. I thought (our offense) really stepped it up.”

The Pirates received the opening kickoff of the third quarter and embarked on an epic 14-play, 86-yard march to paydirt that lasted nearly eight minutes and surely demoralized the Bulldogs (4-3) a bit. West Side converted on a pair of fourth downs on the drive — the first on a 10-yard pass from Blaize Brown to Jackson Stewart, and the second on a memorable 14-yard pass from Brown to Bryler Shurtliff.

“Any time you come out of halftime, especially when you’ve been in a dogfight and a tough game ... and take the opening kick and score, it’s huge,” Moser said. “And so that was a big drive. It didn’t bury (Grangeville), but it definitely put them, with their offense, being down two touchdowns, it definitely put them in a tough spot.”

On the final play of the possession, Brown lofted up a ball to the 6-foot-4 Shurtliff in the corner of the end zone, and the junior deftly high-pointed it and managed to drag his feet in. The 14-yard scoring pass took place on a fourth-and-4 play.

“It felt like a game changer,” said Shurtliff, an all-state football and basketball player, who finished with 32 yards on four receptions. “I made a mistake in the (second quarter) and they got a big play, and then they scored, so it was a game changer. It got momentum back for the team and got us on a roll.”

The Pirates essentially terminated any chance of a Grangeville comeback with 28 seconds remaining in the third quarter when Brown kept the ball on a fourth-and-inches quarterback sneak and bulldozed his way into the end zone from 6 yards out. West Side took advantage of a short field after standout linebacker Taze Stegelmeier stopped talented Grangeville tailback Caleb Frei on a fourth-and-short run at the Bulldog 44-yard line.

It was the second time in the contest that Stegelmeier — who racked up an impressive 19 tackles — made a play to stymie Grangeville on fourth down.

West Side also received a huge defensive performance from Josh Reeder, who shined on both sides of the ball. The senior intercepted a pair of passes in the second half and used his speed to rush for 63 yards on just seven carries. Reeder had a 21-yard scoring scamper in the second quarter to give the hosts a 14-0 lead.

“Oh, it feels amazing,” said Reeder, whose team finished with a 375-172 advantage in total offense. “I’m just so excited that we have such a good team. Our O-line, it was a question mark when we started the season, but they are really great. Those guys are doing awesome. ... We just have an all-around good team.”

West Side’s first touchdown was a 17-yard run by Cage Brokens, who ran hard throughout the game and finished with 113 yards on 14 attempts. The Pirates amassed 312 yards on the ground as Brokens, Reeder, Easton Shurtliff (10-55) and Parker Henderson (6-43) all contributed with more than 40 yards.

“I mean, we’ve got so much speed and strength on the team,” said Reeder, who excels as a middle distance runner on West Side’s track & field program. “It’s honestly so fun. You never know who’s going to get the ball and who’s going to have a big game because we’re all good running backs.”

The Bulldogs scored their lone touchdown with 4:39 remaining in the opening half on a 3-yard plunge by fullback Dane Lindsley to pare their deficit to 14-7. Grangeville was able to get inside West Side’s 10-yard line when signal caller Miles Lefebvre narrowly escaped a sack and found Frei for a 44-yard catch and run on third-and-15.

Both teams turned the ball over inside the opposition’s 30-yard line in the first half. West Side defensive back Hayden Robinson picked off Lefebvre late in the second quarter.

Brown ended up completing 7 of 9 passes for 63 yards for the defending 2A state champions, which will host nemesis Declo, the No. 4 seed, in the semifinals. The Pirates will be extra motivated for that game. The Hornets (8-2) are the last team from the 2A classification to beat them, which they did in the 2018 state semifinals.

The Pirates were hungry to send the Bulldogs packing after they read a story that ran earlier this week in the Lewiston Tribune. Grangeville tailback Tori Ebert was quoted as saying: “They’re not as much a dogfight team. They rely on speed quite a bit. If we can keep them inside, I think we have a good shot.”

That story was posted in the West Side locker room and served as bulletin board material.

“We want our respect,” Shurtliff said. “We’ve played teams, they’ve talked trash, and we’ve walked out with a win every game so far. And (Ebert) said we weren’t a dogfight team and if they could stop the outside run, they’d have the game. And they didn’t stop the outside run; they didn’t stop the inside run either, so it felt good to get the win.”