UNIVERSITY PLACE — A rainy night produced a sloppy game, but Interlake never deviated from its quick-strike offense and claimed a 47-23 victory over North Mason Tuesday in a Class 2A football play-in game at Curtis High School.

"We made the big plays when we needed to," Interlake coach Sheldon Cross said. "That's what we've counted on all year, Matt (Malos), Brett (Kirschner) and Dylan (Amell)."

The Saints (8-3) advance to the first round to play at Mark Morris of Longview on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

"In playoff football, nothing matters but getting to the next round," Cross said.

In a game that had seven fumbles, Interlake's big three made plays at important moments. After falling behind 7-0, the Saints scored 27 straight points that included a pair of touchdown passes from Malos to Amell, an 80-yard fumble return by Matt Mwangi and a touchdown run from Malos.

However, North Mason (9-2) rallied and cut the Saints' lead to four in the third quarter.

"That's a scrappy team," Cross said of the Bulldogs from Belfair. "They will not stop fighting. They just don't go away."

Interlake's veteran leaders found an answer. Malos threw his third scoring strike to Amell and Kirschner scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to put the game away.

"We weren't clicking at first," said Kirschner, who rushed for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. "But once we got our offense clicking, everything started going the right way."

Malos completed just 8 of 23 passes, but Cross never hesitated to put the ball in the junior's hands. Even on fourth-and-9 in the first quarter, with rain coming down sideways, he let Malos throw. He hit Amell, who scored from 50 yards out, a sign that the Saints believe in their big-play, high-scoring system.