Tennessee Temple was searching for the program’s first football playoff win Friday night. For 24 minutes, the Crusaders were searching for answers more than history.

A tight first half was a distant memory after the Crusaders strolled into the second round with a 51-14 win over Monterey on Friday night at Finley Stadium.

"I told them to stop shooting themselves in the foot," Temple coach Kevin Skogen said. "And I reminded them, in case they didn’t know it, we were in a football game."

Neither team had trouble moving the ball inin anan offense-dominatedoffense - dominated offensedominated first half. Temple churned up 264 yards on 22 plays and Monterey had more than 180 yards before the intermission.

But a renewed defensive effort — and even more offense — carried the Crusaders, who stretched an 18-14 halftime lead into a date next week with Trousdale County.

"They were as calm as they could be," Skogen said of his team at the half, "and the players made the adjustments. It’s a great mark of maturity for this team."

E-mail Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com