DAVID CITY -- When Aquinas opened the game with a 16-yard pass, it was unexpected.

When the Monarchs scored their first two touchdowns on passes, it was unthinkable.

Aquinas then turned to its running game to earn a 35-8 victory against Wilber-Clatonia on Wednesday in the Class C-2 football playoffs. The Monarchs will host Humboldt-TR-S in the quarterfinals.

"People think we aren't going to throw the ball. They overplayed our receiver -- Kelby Vandenberg -- on passing downs, so we went to him," Aquinas coach Ron Mimick said. "The last two weeks in the mud, we threw the ball one time each game."

The first score was a 55-yard pass from Will McCawley to Mitch Maguire. In the second quarter, McCawley found Vandenberg for a 13-yard pickup and five plays later, hit Lee Sabata with a 7-yard scoring toss.

Wilber-Clatonia got right back in the game when Tanner Zlab fielded a punt at his 35-yard line and streaked up the sideline 65 yards to cut the lead to 14-8 at halftime.

"That's the first punt we've had returned on us in a long time. He's a good athletic football player," Mimick said. "Even when it was 14-8 at halftime, we were playing well.

"The key was in the second half. We played good defense, had two short fields off punts and we stopped them."

In the second half, a 12-yard return by McCawley and a penalty on the Wolverines gave Aquinas a short field. Nate Roh scored on a 1-yard run.

After the Wolverines turned the ball over on downs, the teams traded punts. Brian Prigge went 25 yards on a double reverse for Aquinas and four plays later, Roh scored on a 5-yard run.

Kalen Vandenberg intercepted a Wilber-Clatonia pass, setting up Roh's 23-yard TD run. Roh, a 195-pound junior, finished with 170 yards on the ground.

"You have to back up a team like this in order to get some running room," Mimick said. "We threw the ball and that backs them up. Tonight we played a nice football team."

McCawley said the game against Wilber-Clatonia earlier in the season, a 26-20 Aquinas win in overtime, played a role in this game.

"They know we're supposed to run because last time we played them, it was run all the time," McCawley said. "We needed to change it up a bit. And that really confused them. We were just trying to mix it up a bit."

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at rhambleton@journalstar.com or 473-7314.