The Pleasant Home Eagles were unable to overcome the quick scoring St. Luke Wildcats, falling 42-6 in the first round of the playoffs.

The Wildcats stopped the Eagles on their opening drive, then needed just four plays to find the endzone. George Payne scored his first of four touchdowns.

After forcing another punt from the Eagles, the Wildcats offense found themselves deep in their own territory, but Payne needed only one play this time, taking the ball 90 yards for the touchdown.

Pleasant Home put together its best drive of the game following the touchdown, going 55 yards on 20 plays and using up nearly all of the 12 minutes in the second quarter. Cameron Hill capped the drive off with a three-yard score with 49.9 seconds left in the first half, cutting the lead to 14-6.

The Wildcats wasted no time scoring as Ethan Walker took the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for the touchdown with 39.5 seconds remaining before halftime.

Short drives seem to be common for the Wildcats. The Wildcats used only two plays to start the third quarter when Payne busted out a 50-yard touchdown run, giving the Wildcats a 28-6 lead.

The Eagles strung together another solid drive, using 15 plays and gaining almost 60 yards, but came up short on a fourth down play to end the drive.

The Eagles’ next drive ended when Hunter Owen pass picked off by Payne, who just stepped in front of the receiver, then went 55 yards for the touchdown, his fourth on the day.

The Wildcats added one final touchdown when Andrew Favors hit a wide open Aaron Bryant, who went 49 yards for the score for a final score of 42-6.

“I’m really proud of the way this team fought all year,” said head coach Cody McCann. “We dealt with a lot of injuries all year and some came back up tonight. We lost three starters tonight, but we never gave up.”