NO. 4 TRITON AT NO. 1 UNITED SOUTH CENTRAL

TRITON (7-2) is coming off an easy 33-8 win over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva. Logan Erdmann scored four touchdowns, on runs of 48, 6, 3 and 3 yards and finished with 140 yards rushing. Triton also had two interceptions and held NRHEG to 82 yards rushing. Erdmann has rushed for 897 yards and is averaging about 9 yards per carry. Triton has allowed just 15 points in its last two games combined.

USC (8-1) blasted No. 8 seed Maple River 46-8 in the first round of the playoffs. The Rebels have ridden the talents of third-year starting quarterback Riley Niebuhr. The senior guides a spread attack. His favorite target is 6-foot-8 sophomore Kyle Bauman. USC has an excellent defense and has had shutouts in two of its last four games.

NO. 3 SOUTHLAND AT NO. 2 W-E-M

SOUTHLAND (8-1) scored six touchdowns in the first half and turned its opening playoff game into a 46-7 rout of Kenyon-Wanamingo. The Rebels got 109 yards rushing from Mike Goergen and 68 from Nick Schmitz. Southland held K-W to 52 yards of offense. Southland has outscored its opponents by a cumulative 277-115. The Rebels have an excellent blend of speed, power and finesse. Quarterback Sam Noterman has passed for 1,113 yards. His favorite receiver has been the speedy and athletic Alan May. May is averaging over 20 yards per catch.

W-E-M (8-1) buried Hayfield 40-0 in the first round. W-E-M has just one loss, that won 20-19 to top seed United South Central. W-E-M, one of the traditionally tough programs in the state, is strong on both sides of the ball. It is allowing just 120 yards of offense per game, while averaging 350 yards of offense itself. It's a diverse Buccaneers attack. W-E-M has rushed for 1,900 yards and passed for over 1,000.

-- Pat Ruff

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