BROOKVILLE— The muddy field didn't matter. Moniteau didn't use the ground that much anyway.

Tyler Armagost threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 77 yards and three more scores as the Warriors defeated defending champion Brookville, 38-12, in a first-round District 9 Class AAfootball playoff game Saturday.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Moniteau (6-5), which faces rival Karns City (11-0) for the district title at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Clarion University's Memorial Stadium.

Moniteau scored 30 points in the first half Saturday — five more points than it scored in the first two quarters of its last four games combined. The Warriors were outscored 115-25 in the first half of losses to Karns City, Redbank Valley, Clarion and Sharon.

"We came out and played some football today,"Moniteau coach Jeff Campbell said. "We decided before this game, regardless of the weather and field conditions, we were gonna come out and establish the pass right away.

"We weren't going to spend time early trying to get our running game going. If that happened later on, so be it."

The passing game happened right away, as in the game's first snap from scrimmage.

Armagost play-faked to running back James Shope, dropped back and found a wide-open Clay Casper well behind the secondary. The play covered 69 yards to the Brookville 4-yard line.

"That play was huge for us,"Armagost said. "It showed that today, things were going to be different."

Armagost scored the game's first touchdown on a 2-yard run. He added a 23-yard run for a touchdown late in the first quarter, capping a 47-yard drive that was set up by Jacob Boy's recovery of a Brookville fumble.

The Raiders (7-4) turned the ball over six times Saturday, including five interceptions. Armagost threw conversion passes to Dakota Campbell after both first-quarter touchdowns.

"When we fell behind 16-0, I knew we were in trouble,"Brookville coach Chris Dworek said. "I thought we came out ready to play, but they made some big plays early against us.

"Momentum is big in football these days and we couldn't get enough things going our way to reverse it."

A 38-yard pass to Josh Loos set up Armagost's third touchdown — a 1-yard run — and the quarterback's own conversion run gave the Warriors a 24-0 lead with nine minutes left in the first half.

Snow flurries and a mud-caked field didn't bother Moniteau's passing game all day.

"We've been doing this all year,"Campbell said. "We just haven't been doing it in the first half."

The early air assault was a welcome change for Armagost.

"I loved it," the quarterback said. "It was fun to come out throwing right away for a change.

"The field conditions didn't play a factor as much as the play of our line and our receivers getting open for big plays."

The biggest play occurred toward the end of the first half. Facing a fourth-and-31 from the Brookville 40 following a sack and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, the Warriors opted not to punt.

Instead, Armagost connected with Loos for a 40-yard touchdown strike, deep down the left sideline, with 1:55 left in the half. The play gave the Warriors a 30-6 lead at intermission.

"The first play of the game was a microcosm of the whole day for us,"Dworek said. "We had a chance to get to the quarterback and missed him. Their receiver beat our coverage deep. They did that to us all day."

Armagost threw for 279 of his 310 yards in the first half. His 77 rushing yards led the team as well.

Defensively, Moniteau held District 9 rushing leader Joe Galbraith to 46 yards on 14 carries. Boy, Loos, Armagost, Shope and lineman Justin Ellenberger intercepted passes for the Warriors.

"Our defense played like I know it can today," Campbell said. "We controlled the line of scrimmage."

"Their pressure disrupted a lot of what we were trying to do offensively,"Dworek admitted.

Notes: Campbell had eight catches for 126 yards. ... Brookville dropped to 2-5 in home playoff games. ... Moniteau is headed to the District 9 title game for the second time in three years, but has never won it. Karns City will be in the district title contest for the seventh time in nine years, last winning it in 2001.

Moniteau 38, Brookville 12Moniteau 16 14 0 8—38Brookville 0 6 0 6—12M B16 First Downs 1231-128 Rushes-Yards 40-168310 Passing Yards 10716-34-0 Passes (Comp.-Att.-Int.) 7-24-5438 Total Yards 2750-0 Fumbles/Lost 5-16-52 Penalties-Yards 6-61

First QuarterM — Tyler Armagost 2 run (Dakota Campbell pass from Armagost), 11:08M — Armagost 23 run (Campbell pass from Armagost), 1:49

Second QuarterM — Armagost 1 run (Armagost run), 9:00B — Alex Kerr 10 pass from Shane Heschke (pass failed), 6:18M — Josh Loos 40 pass from Armagost (run failed), 1:55

Fourth QuarterM — Campbell 15 pass from Armagost (James Shope run), 9:16B — Ethan Harmon 5 run (kick blocked), :27

Individual Statistics

Passing: Moniteau, Tyler Armagost 16-34-310-0. Brookville, Shane Heschke 7-22-104-4, Joe Galbraith 0-1-0-0, Alex Kerr 0-1-0-1.

Rushing: Moniteau, Tyler Armagost 18-77, James Shope 8-31, Dakota Campbell 4-21, Team 1-(-1). Brookville, Shane Heschke 12-26, Joe Galbraith 14-46, D.J. Dennison 3-4, Alex Kerr 1-13, Hank Truman 1-8, Kyle Galbraith 3-9, Ethan Harmon 5-70, Team 1-(-8).

Receiving: Moniteau, Clay Casper 2-88, Dakota Campbell 8-126, John McFadden 4-18, Josh Loos 2-78. Brookville, Rocky Perace 2-43, Alex Kerr 4-66, Joe Galbraith 1-(-2).