HUNTINGTON — The second-seeded Huntington Highlanders quickly showed their overall dominance against 10th-seeded Jefferson in the quarterfinal round of the state’s Class AAA football playoffs.

After taking a 14-0 lead halfway through the first quarter, Huntington High School hustled out to a 24-0 lead by halftime.

By the completion of its 51-7 win over the Cougars, Huntington had severely limited Jefferson High School to 121 yards of total offense and had intercepted three passes, in stifling the Jefferson bid for a spot in the state semifinals for the first time in the school’s 51-year history of football.

Highlander quarterback Gavin Lochow accounted for six touchdowns — running for three scores and 122 rushing yards on only 12 carries, and then completing four of his seven passes for another three scores.

Running back Zah Jackson rushed for 151 yards on 12 tries and had one of the Highlander pass interceptions.

Jefferson managed only 29 rushing yards against the constantly swarming Huntington defense.

The sun-splashed afternoon also saw the Highlander special teams enjoy a fruitful day, as Huntington moved into the semifinals, where it will be at home to face defending state champion Martinsburg High School, a 21-3 winner over Bridgeport High School in another quarterfinal game.

Jefferson quarterback Dylan Harich went 10-for-21 through the air for 92 yards. But he suffered three interceptions against the highly productive Huntington defense.

A Harich to Tay’Shaun Roper pass accounted for Jefferson’s only touchdown.

Jefferson had beaten Spring Valley High School, a neighbor of Huntington, in its first game in the 2022 playoffs.

The Cougars finished with an 8-4 overall record, the same mark achieved in 2021, when they defeated Hurricane in the first round of the playoffs before being ousted in the quarterfinal round by Bridgeport’s Single-Wing offense.

This year, the other semifinal game will pit top-seeded Parkersburg South High School at home against Hurricane High School.

Huntington will take its one-loss record against a Martinsburg team that lost to out-of-state schools Highland Springs High School (Virginia) and Riverside High School (Ohio) during the regular season. Martinsburg defeated Huntington in the 2021 playoffs.