Summit’s Kai Scally (18) outruns Willamette defenders after a reception on the way to the end zone for a touchdown during the 5A first-round playoff game on Friday at Summit High School.

In a blink of an eye, No. 8 Summit put No. 9 Willamette’s season to bed in the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs Friday night at Summit High School.

On the opening kickoff, senior wideout Ari Villano fielded a squib kick at the 10-yard line and weaved his way through the 11 players on the Wolverine kickoff team to dash into the end zone.

The Storm never took their foot off the gas and buried Willamette 55-20 to advance to the quarterfinals at No. 1 Silverton this Friday.

“That was an awesome experience,” Villano said. “I trust my blockers more than anything. They are the reason that I was able to do that. It just set the tone for the rest of the game. We didn’t have any doubts coming into this game and to do that on the first play let everyone know that we aren’t messing around.”

The first quarter hadn’t even ended and the Storm had scored a touchdown in all three phases — offense, defense and special teams — to build its 21-0 lead.

“The great thing about that first quarter is that all the touchdowns came in three phases of the game,” said Summit coach Corben Hyatt. “It’s all coming together.”

The Storm’s first offensive possession was a heavy dose of junior running back Jude Anderson on the ground and a long pass play from sophomore quarterback Andrew Guthrie to junior wide out Connor Conneely on third-and-long to put the Storm in the red zone. The drive was capped off by a 3-yard touchdown reception by Conneely.

The ensuing Willamette possession was halted when Alex Nevarov broke through the line and stripped Williamette quarterback Tre People. Junior defensive lineman Colson Skuse was there to scoop up the ball and return the ball 40 yards for a touchdown.

The strip sack that led to a touchdown was one of several impactful plays Nevarov made in the game. In just his third season playing football, and missing last year’s playoffs with an injury, the senior defensive end was nearly unblockable and finished with four sacks.

“I didn’t want this to be my last game,” Nevarov said. “So I went out there and gave it my all.”

The Storm (6-4) pushed their lead to 28-0 on their opening drive of the second quarter when Guthrie once again found Conneely for a touchdown. This time it was a 44-yard bomb.

Willamette (8-2) was finally able to put together two scoring drives in the second quarter. On both occasions, People connected with wideout Tyson Rather. The first was a 22-yard touchdown and the second was a 15-yard touchdown with six seconds left in the half. Both PAT kick attempts were blocked by Storm senior defensive back Cutler Hobin.

Sandwiched between the two Wolverine touchdowns was a 51-yard touchdown screen pass from Guthrie to senior wideout Kai Scally to help Summit take a 35-12 lead into halftime.

The Storm quickly put away any chance of a Wolverine second-half comeback when Guthrie threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, a 10-yard pass to Villano. Then two touchdown runs by senior running back Taylan Kinsella — a 34-yarder and a 1-yader — in the third quarter gave the Storm a 55-12 advantage and activated the running clock.

Summit will travel to take on No. 1 Silverton (9-1) this Friday for the second time this season, as the Foxes handed the Storm a 35-12 loss in the first week. It is also a coaching matchup between two good friends, Hyatt and Silverton Coach Dan Lever. The two have coached together at the Les Schwab Bowl in the past.

“I flat-out told him during the offseason that this is your year,” Hyatt said. “I’m just hoping that we can keep it close.”

In other football playoff action on Friday night:

Mountain View advances, Bend eliminated

No. 2 Mountain View dominated No. 15 Thurston 42-18 in a Class 5A first-round playoff game at Mountain View. The Cougars (10-0) will continue their quest to return to the state championship game when they host No. 10 Lebanon (7-3) this Friday at 7 p.m. at Mountain View. The undefeated Cougars have won 22 of their last 23 games, their only loss in that time span a 29-23 setback to Wilsonville in last year’s state championship game.

In another 5A first-round game, No. 12 Bend High fell to the defending state champion Wildcats 63-34 at Wilsonville. The Lava Bears’ season ended at 6-4 while No. 5 Wilsonville (8-2) will travel to face No. 4 Churchill in the quarterfinals.

Crook County, Sisters eliminated; Culver moves on

In the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, Crook County’s undefeated season came to a crashing hault with a 20-17 home loss to No. 13 Tillamook. The Cowboys’ finished their season at 9-1, while Tillamook (6-4) will play at No. 5 Scappoose in the 4A quarterfinals.

No. 12 Sisters fell to No. 5 Taft 34-27 in the first round of the Class 3A playoffs. The Outlaws ended their season at 7-3, while Taft (8-2) moves on to the 3A quarterfinals.

In the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs, No. 4 Culver shut out No. 13 Weston-McEwen 44-0. The undefeated Bulldogs (10-0) will host another unbeaten team in No. 5 St. Paul (10-0) this Friday in the 2A quarterfinals.