ROCHESTER — The regular season for the Mayo High School football team didn't necessarily go according to plan.

The Spartans entered postseason play with a 3-5 record, with all five losses coming by six points or less. Remarkable, considering Mayo's defense has allowed over 20 points just once this season. But a stagnant offense at times has the Spartans averaging just 19 points per game entering Tuesday's Section 1, Class 5A quarterfinal game.

Still, the Spartans know as well as anyone that the postseason is the start of a fresh opportunity. The defending Section 1-5A champions seem to thrive during this time of year, having won the last section titles when in Class 5A.

They expect this year to be no different.

That fresh opportunity got off to a good start Tuesday night.

The No. 3-seeded Spartans started fast, and ended faster, sprinting past No. 6 John Marshall 49-0 at Whitney Stadium at Mayo High School.

It was the exact type of start to the postseason coach Donny Holcomb was looking for.

"We talked about focus and definitely showed if we come out focused, what we can do," Holcomb said.

The Spartans scored on their very first offensive play when Kellen Burger found OJ Wilson for a 50-yard TD. On their third offensive play, Burger found Evan Hill for a 17-yard score. Xavier Adams made it 21-0 with a 3-yard run with just 3 minutes, 46 seconds left in the first quarter.

After a bit of a lull in the second quarter, the Spartans (4-5) put it away with a 21-point third quarter, punctuated by a Brandon Cseko pick-6 to end the third quarter.

The defense was spectacular once again tonight. They forced three turnovers and held JM to just 126 total yards, including just five yards through the air.

"A lot of us last year were on JV together," linebacker Isaac Sellon said. "Now we're all playing at the next level, and it's been great. I've had a blast playing with this defense."

Sellon had one of Mayo's two interceptions, hauling in a deflected pass even with his right arm in a cast to protect a fractured thumb. He and fellow linebacker Nico Barry have been great all season long. Raymond Adams is terrific in the back end at safety, and Caleb Loomis, Duke Bartoo and Jameson Jensen are just as good up front.

"To be able to play a two-high shell and still stop the run the way they do, you're going to be able to do a lot," JM coach Kyle Riggott said. "Those guys in the interior, they make you earn everything. I thought they did a great job responding to some of our read-run game. We gashed them a couple of weeks ago, and we knew there would be good coaching and adjustments. They certainly did."

Overall, they are a terrific unit, allowing just 12.3 points per game.

That's why, if the offense can show out as they did on Tuesday, the Spartans could very well make another postseason run.

It's why they enter the postseason, saying, 'Why not us?'

"There's no reason it can't be us," Holcomb said. "We showed it today; we just got to make sure that we can play a complete game like this again."

The only concern is for Burger. The starting quarterback was unable to continue after spraining his ankle in the second quarter.

"He's going to have to hang low a little bit," Holcomb said. "We will evaluate him and see where he's at. He just couldn't come back in and really push off at all.

As for John Marshall (0-9), the young Rockets took their fair share of lumps this season, but continued to show heart for coach Riggott and company. That certainly continued Tuesday night, as they played until the final whistle.

"They're a tough bunch of kids," Riggott said. "They're resilient. The lives they live are right. Something unique to our program is we have a lot of kids that have a different life than a lot in Rochester. They learn to scrap, they learn to self-advocate, and they learn what it means to actually be resilient. That's what is going to take them far in life."

The Spartans now head to Northfield to take on the No. 2-seeded Raiders in a Section 1-5A semifinal at 7 p.m. on Saturday. Northfield won the regular season matchup 18-12.

"We got three days to prepare, and we'll do that," Holcomb said. "Northfield, they are feisty, and they gave us fits with mixing up their blitzes and coming off the edge. So we definitely have some things that we are ready to install to counter."

In the meantime, the Spartans are going to enjoy this one. The victory also means they will hold onto the Addington Jug for another season. The Spartans have held the traveling trophy played for by the three Rochester public schools since 2020.

"We see (the jug) every single day," Sellon said. "I just feel so relieved; we still have it. We're not the senior class that gave it up."

No. 3 Mayo 49, No. 6 John Marshall 0

JM 0-0-0-0 — 0

Mayo 21-0-21-7 — 49

Scoring summary

First quarter

Mayo — OJ Wilson 50 pass from Kellen Burger (Miles Ties kick) 10:20

Mayo — Evan Hill 17 pass from Burger (Ties kick) 8:47

Mayo — Xavier Adams 3 run (Ties kick) 3:46

Third quarter

Mayo — Max Erickson 2 run (Ties kick) 6:49

Mayo — Tucker Smith 1 run (Ties kick) 3:14

Mayo — Brandon Cseko 40 interception return (Ties kick) 0:00

Fourth quarter

Mayo — Daijon O'Connor 10 run (Finn Morrey kick)