DOYLESTOWN — Central Bucks West knew its District 1 Class 6A quarterfinal matchup with rival Central Bucks East would be different the second time around.
The result, however, belonged to the Bucks once again.
Behind another dominant performance from its rushing attack and a composed first varsity start from freshman quarterback Ethan Stoneback, second-seeded Central Bucks West defeated No. 10 Central Bucks East, 44-21, Friday night at War Memorial Field to advance to the District 1 semifinals.
West improved to 11-1 and will host No. 11 Council Rock South next Friday night with a trip to the District 1 championship game on the line.
Two weeks after beating East 41-14 to close the regular season, the Bucks wasted little time establishing the run in the playoff rematch.
West opened the game with a five-play scoring drive in which every snap stayed on the ground. Nick Miletto ripped off gains of nine and 22 yards before Louie Cipollo finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run to give the Bucks a 6-0 lead.
East answered immediately.
Quarterback Hunter Pulford broke loose for 21 yards on the Patriots' second play, and senior Mike Price handled the rest of the drive. Price carried five straight times, eventually breaking through for a 35-yard touchdown that gave East a 7-6 advantage.
It would be the Patriots' only lead of the night.
West responded with another long possession, converting a fourth-and-inches near its own 30 before marching back into East territory. Cipollo capped the drive with his second touchdown of the opening quarter, this time from 24 yards out, as the Bucks went back in front 13-7.
From there, West began to take control.
Senior Mason Darrows drilled a 45-yard field goal early in the second quarter to extend the lead to 16-7. After East turned the ball over on a fumble, Miletto needed just one play to make the Patriots pay, scoring from 21 yards out to push the advantage to 23-7.
Miletto continued his outstanding postseason with 155 rushing yards and a touchdown, consistently finding room behind a West offensive front that controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the night.
East refused to go quietly.
Price remained the focal point of the Patriots' offense, while Pulford continued to hurt West with his legs. With 4:19 remaining in the first half, Pulford escaped for a 42-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 23-14.
That gave East some life heading toward halftime, but West answered with perhaps its most important drive of the night.
Stoneback, filling in for injured senior quarterback Josh George, connected with Ashton Stass for a 35-yard gain to move the Bucks deep into East territory. With seven seconds remaining in the half, Stoneback found Liam Laphen for a 10-yard touchdown.
Miletto converted the two-point attempt, sending West into the locker room with a commanding 31-14 advantage.
For a freshman making his first varsity start in a rivalry playoff game, Stoneback was asked to manage a difficult situation. He did exactly that.
West leaned heavily on its veteran running game, but Stoneback made the throws he needed to make, including the touchdown to Laphen just before halftime. He later added a rushing touchdown of his own in the fourth quarter.
Neither team scored during the third quarter, although East put together its best sustained drive of the second half.
The Patriots moved from their own 20 all the way to the West 20 behind runs from Price, Liam Hoey and Pulford. The drive ended, however, when East lost a fumble, allowing the Bucks to escape without surrendering any points.
West then went back to what had worked all night.
Miletto broke off another long run as the Bucks marched into scoring position, and Cipollo finished the drive with his third rushing touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter.
Cipollo scored on runs of 18, 24 and six yards, giving West another explosive option alongside Miletto and Braylen Cape in an already deep backfield.
A short time later, West took advantage of another possession in East territory. A 33-yard completion from Stoneback to Cipollo moved the Bucks to the one-yard line, and Stoneback finished the drive himself with a quarterback keeper to make it 44-14 with 7:04 remaining.
East continued to battle.
The Patriots put together one final scoring drive, converting twice on fourth down before Hoey broke free for a 37-yard touchdown with 3:52 left to set the final score at 44-21.
Price once again carried much of the offensive workload for East. Based on Suburban One Insider's unofficial game chart, he finished with more than 130 rushing yards and a touchdown. Pulford added 88 yards and a touchdown on the ground, while Hoey finished with more than 60 yards rushing and the Patriots' final score.
The loss ends East's season at 7-5, but not before the Patriots put together one of the more memorable postseason runs in program history.
East entered the playoffs as the No. 10 seed and opened the postseason by going on the road and defeating No. 7 Ridley, 28-7, earning the program's first District 1 playoff victory in 21 years and becoming just the second team in school history to reach the district quarterfinals.
For West, the road continues.
The Bucks have now scored 100 points through their first two postseason games after defeating Perkiomen Valley 56-42 in Round One and East 44-21 in the quarterfinals.
Next up is another Suburban One League opponent.
No. 11 Council Rock South defeated No. 14 North Penn, 20-13, Friday night to earn its place in the semifinals.
That sets up a Friday night showdown at War Memorial Field between No. 2 Central Bucks West and No. 11 Council Rock South, with a spot in the District 1 Class 6A championship game on the line.
FINAL No. 2 Central Bucks West 44 No. 10 Central Bucks East 21
Scoring by Quarter
CB East — 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 — 21
CB West — 13 | 18 | 0 | 13 — 44