Round 2: Aquin vs Stockton
Stockton -
For all the success that these two conference rivals have had throughout the years, they were only meeting up for the 4th time in the playoffs. Ironically, all those match-ups have come in the 2nd round, and Aquin has won them all. After meeting in week 2, where Aquin won 40-22 convincingly, there was something about this game that had the feeling it was going to be a good one.
The Blackhawks would strike first with 6:02 to play in the 1st quarter as Jason Hermann would rush it in from 3 yards out to give Stockton the early 6-0 lead.
Aquin would respond later in the quarter, as Will Gustafson connected with Brennan Carlson for a 10 yard touchdown pass. The Evan Broge PAT was good as Aquin took a 7-6 lead they would take into the 2nd quarter.
Gustafson would tack on a 9 yard touchdown run with 3:53 to go in the half, as the Broge PAT gave Aquin a 14-6 lead. Stockton would promptly respond, as Hermann would break loose for a 34 yard touchdown run with 3:12 left in the half to close the gap to 14-12 in favor of Aquin.
With 32 seconds left in the half, Stockton's Andrew Hass would connect on a halfback pass to Austin Chumbler for the score, as the Blackhawks grabbed an 18-14 lead headed to the half.
With 7:39 to go in the 3rd quarter, Aquin would take the lead for good, as Gustafson would run to the endzone from 15 yards out. The Broge kick would give Aquin the 21-18 lead, which would hold heading to the 4th quarter.
The final dagger came right at the start of the 4th quarter, as just 11 seconds in Gustafson connected with Carlson for a 44 yard touchdown. Broge's PAT kick was no good, but Aquin extended their lead to 27-18, which would become the final.
Aquin improves to 4-0 over the Blackhawks in the playoffs in the series. With the win, Aquin improves to 11-0 and will hit the road again as they travel to Lena-Winslow (11-0) for a quarterfinal match-up for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.
Stockton ends their season with a 7-4 mark.