Austin Tompkins had to watch round one from the sideline, but the Lincoln Southwest junior more than made up for that in the playoffs.

Tompkins had two interceptions, and Rylan Cotton ran for 110 yards to lead the Silver Hawks to a 14-7 victory against second-ranked Lincoln Southeast on Friday in the Class A football playoff quarterfinals.

"I was injured the first time we played them, so I watched it on the sideline," said Tompkins, whose first interception set up Southwest's initial score. "We knew what they were doing because our coaches had good scouting reports. It's a lot more fun playing than watching from the sideline."

The Silver Hawks (7-4) advance to a semifinal matchup with defending champion Millard West (9-2) next Saturday at Seacrest Field.

"We got 14 points in the first half and that was really big to have the momentum," Cotton said. "Our defense shut them out all night and that was huge."

The game reversed the outcome of the regular season, when Southeast held on for a 17-12 victory.

The Knights finished the season 9-2 after posting back-to-back 1-8 seasons.

The Silver Hawks took advantage of the first turnover in the game. Tompkins took the ball out of intended receiver Eric Jackson's hands and returned it 6 yards to the Southeast 19-yard line. Three plays later, Jeff Seybold scored on an 11-yard sweep around the right end for a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Knights' next two drives ended in a turnover and on downs.

Southeast drove to the Southwest 26 before Jay Bender pounced on a Southeast fumble. On the next possession, a pass from Derrius Vick went through the outstretched fingertips of Derek Shouse in the end zone. Southwest took over after two more incomplete passes.

Cotton found Jordan Tyrance for a 16-yard gain and, after 8-yard passes to Bender and Tyrance, Cotton went up the middle for a 10-yard score and a 14-0 lead.

"They jumped routes and they were taking away the run," said Southeast coach John Larsen. "They did a good job of neutralizing Zach (Taylor), so it made it hard to move the ball.

"We felt like our defense would keep us in the game, and we just had to make plays and put points on the board. Unfortunately, we didn't get two scores."

The LSE defense held Southwest at the 1 late in the third quarter. Southeast then marched 99 yards in 12 plays, with Shouse pulling in a 32-yard touchdown pass from Vick with 8:44 left in the game.

The Knights got two more opportunities but couldn't make any headway.

Southwest held the Knights to 145 yards rushing, with Taylor getting 105 on 29 carries. Seybold had 60 yards rushing for the Silver Hawks.

"When you play Southeast, they are going to give the ball to Zach, and he's a good enough back to where they'll give it to him 10 times, and the 11th time, he'll break one," said Southwest coach Mark King. "Our defense did a great job of tackling him. You have to wrap him up and grab cloth and get him to the ground, because you can't just hit him and have him go down."

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at rhambleton@journalstar.com or 473-7314.

Highlights: Southwest vs. Southeast