OAKLEY - From the balmy 50-degree temperature to the sweet smell of hamburgers on the grills and baked beans in the crock pots, Saturday afternoon in Oakley provided perfect conditions for a high school football playoff game.

Too bad the Hornets had to end the party early.

Oakley remained undefeated with a 62-14 mercy-rule victory over Notus in the Class 1A state quarterfinals.

The Hornets (10-0) ended it early in the third quarter for their eighth mercy-rule finish of the season.

Oakley advances to the semifinals, where it will meet Snake River Conference rival Castleford. The Hornets beat the Wolves 48-20 on Oct. 30 but will likely travel to Castleford for the upcoming rematch.

Senior Rhyan Greenwell had a huge day for Oakley against Notus, gaining 75 yards on nine carries and a touchdown. He also returned two interceptions for TDs.

"He ran tough, and the interceptions were huge," said Oakley coach Tim Behunin of Greenwell. "Anytime you get those, it's icing on the cake."

Oakley quarterbacks Brady Manning and Stephan Ortiz have split time this season, but with Manning sidelined with a deep calf bruise, Ortiz was able to step up and shine. The sophomore completed 5 of 8 passes for 162 yards and three touchdowns, and also picked up 30 rushing yards.

"It's good to have two quality quarterbacks because it gives us some options in different situations and they have their specialties," Behunin said.

From the get-go, Notus (7-3) made Oakley take notice, as Ryan Vibbert returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown.

"It's good to have a wake up call every now and then, to get a little punch back in the mouth," Behunin said. "Sometimes that gets you focused."

Oakley refocused and responded on its third offensive play, as Junior Tellez took off for a 60-yard touchdown run. The Hornets never looked back.

On each of Notus' next two possessions, Greenwell intercepted Andrew Pritchard and returned the picks for touchdowns.

"Our linemen did a good job of getting pressure, getting their hands up and batting the ball and knocking it right to me. I got lucky to be where I was," Greenwell said. "After the second interception return we just kept stacking on points and went on from there. They never really got momentum back."

Oakley's big men controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Notus gained just 122 yards of total offense, half of that coming on two plays by running backs Kerby Andersen and Zach Harrell.

Oakley also got interceptions from Travis Robinson and Hunter Wadsworth. Wadsworth took his pick back 75 yards for the game-ending touchdown in the third quarter.

"The defense really gets things started for us because we use them to establish field position and game tempo," Behunin said. "Ultimately, our defense really turned things around."

Oakley 62, Notus 14

Notus 8 6 0 x - 14

Oakley 28 28 6 x - 62

First quarter

Notus - Ryan Vibbert 85 kickoff return (Blake Stish pass from Andrew Pitchard) 11:45

Oakley - Junior Tellez 60 run (run failed) 10:34

O - Rhyan Greenwell 25 interception return (Stephan Ortiz run) 9:17

O - Greenwell 30 interception return (run failed) 8:25

O - Hunter Wadsworth 21 pass from Ortiz (Ortiz run) 5:05

Second quarter

O - Weston Cooper 41 pass from Ortiz (Wadsworth pass from Ortiz) 11:50

N - Zach Harrell 33 run (pass failed) 10:52

O - Paxton Robinson 1 run (Ortiz run) 7:31

O - Wadsworth 90 pass from Ortiz (run failed) 4:13

O - Greenwell 25 run (pass failed) 0:33

Third quarter

O - Wadworth 75 interception return 9:22