COUNCIL HILL — Midway spent all week preparing for the most prolific passing offense in Class C. The work paid off in a big way.

Midway’s defense stifled Claremore Christian’s top-ranked passing offense and Stoney Rodriguez paced the offense by accounting for five touchdowns as Midway beat the Warriors 48-0 Friday night at James Bayless Stadium.

The win clinched the runner-up spot in District C-4 for Midway who continues its streak of nine consecutive home playoff games. Midway, 6-4 overall and 6-1 in district play, will host Deer Creek-Lamont in a first round game next Friday night. Claremore Christian fell to 5-4, 4-3 to finish fourth.

“We spent the entire week working on our secondary coverage and pass rush,” said Midway coach Larry Childers. “Our goal was to shut down their passing game. They had some completions but everytime they completed a pass, we were right there to make sure there were no extra yards.”

Claremore Christian’s Andrew Bell entered the game with nearly 2,400 yards passing and 34 touchdowns in eight games. But completions and yardage were hard to come by. Midway limited Bell to just 18 of 41 passing with only 107 yards, with 35 of those yards coming on the second play of the game.

Jake Hollingshead had four sacks for the Chargers, whose defensive line kept pressure on Bell. Claremore Christian had just nine rushing attempts for minus 15 yards.

“This was a team effort, but the defense really looked good at times,” said Childers whose Chargers shutout Sasakwa in the second half of last week’s upset win on the road. “We have four quarters of shutout football in the last two weeks against quality teams.”

Offensively, Midway was able to move the ball at will. Michael Campbell, who finished with 115 yards rushing on nine carries, raced past the Warrior defense on Midway’s first offensive play for a 66-yard touchdown run to put the Chargers ahead 6-0. Campbell then scored on an 18-yard run late in the first quarter as Midway took a 12-0 lead.

Stoney Rodriquez ran for three touchdowns, including two in the final two minutes of the first quarter as Midway charged out to a 28-0 lead. Rodriquez also threw for two touchdowns. Michael Frazier and Campbell each caught 24-yard scoring passes within a minute and a half of each other early in the second quarter as Midway built a 42-0 lead.

Rodriquez final touchdown run came with 5:20 remaining in the first half. Claremore Christian only drove into Midway territory twice with the last drive ending as the half ended with the Warriors at the Charger 22. The game was called at half due to the mercy rule.

“We struggled early in the year,” Childers said. “But, we played the toughest schedule in Class C. I believe that prepared us for the end of the season. After the loss to Maud, we knew we had to win out if we wanted a home playoff game.”