Mark Morris is a run-first, smash-mouth offense that would love to grind out methodical drives to wear down opposing defenses.

The Monarchs’ massive and talented offensive line has been pushing defensive lines back all season — and it was no different Saturday at Longview Memorial Stadium.

That said, Mark Morris is far from a one-dimensional team.

The seventh-ranked Monarchs proved that with a balanced air attack as quarterback Scotty Kirkpatrick connected with five different receivers out of various formations, including three scoring strikes.

Mark Morris even ran several plays out of the famous “Wildcat” formation in a 55-13 rout of River Ridge in a Southwest 2A District crossover game Saturday.

“It’s nice to show that we can run as well as pass. Whatever they’re giving us, we’ll take,” Kirkpatrick said. “We want to show everybody that this year we’re for real. Hopefully, we can go deep in state and not just go one and out like we did last year.”

Mark Morris (9-1) advances to the first round of the state playoffs and will host either North Mason or Interlake next Saturday at Longview Memorial Stadium. The Monarchs reached the first round of state the past two years, but lost both times.

“I expect our kids to keep working. We don’t have any days off,” MM coach Shawn Perkins said. “This is do-or-die time. We’ve got to step up to the plate and make things happen. We can’t wish things happen. We have to make things happen. We have more things to accomplish.”

The Mark Morris line — consisting of Taylor Beck, Alex Shuttleworth, Stephen Cabrales, Jake Welch, Jake McCoy and Jake Cotterell, along with tight ends Nolan Burnett and Cody Molner — had their way with the Hawks’ defensive front all night.

The line was the catalyst to the onslaught, which started from the opening kickoff when the Monarchs drove 71 yards on 11 plays as Travis Kinder took the ball into the end zone from 4 yards out.

“Our offense did well. We dominated them up front in my opinion,” MM junior running back Jeremy Wolf said. “We like to run the ball mostly because it eliminates the bad stuff that could happen. But our run sets up our pass.”

On River Ridge’s first play from scrimmage, the Hawks fumbled and McCoy recovered at the 31-yard line. One play later, Mark Morris went up 14-0 as Dan Feeney made some River Ridge linebackers miss, ran through a couple others, then did a 360-degree spin move to free himself for a tough 31-yard TD.

River Ridge’s next possession was no better than its first as Mark Morris forced another fumble. Kinder picked up the loose ball on the run and rambled into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown that made it 21-0 after Owen Baird’s third extra point.

The Hawks gained only 2 yards in their first two possessions, lost two fumbles and fell behind by 21 points with 5:07 still left in the first quarter. It would prove to be a long, long night for the Hawks (2-8) as Mark Morris scored three touchdowns in a matter of one minute, nine seconds.

To make matters worse for the Hawks, Kirkpatrick and his slew of receivers had not even made an impact yet. But after a bad punt of 17 yards by River Ridge, Kirkpatrick found Molner wide open streaking down the field for a 44-yard touchdown bomb that pushed the MM lead to 28-0 with more than two minutes left in the first quarter.

Kirkpatrick finished 7-for-8 passing for 144 yards and three touchdowns.

“That’s what we wanted to do if we had the opportunity. We wanted to show that,” Perkins said about the Monarchs’ ability to pass. “We’re capable of passing and throwing the ball, but if we don’t have to, we are not going to. When you throw the ball, three things can happen and two are bad. I like running the ball and letting that clock run.”

The Hawks managed to find the end zone on a 26-yard keeper by quarterback Adam Walker. The scoring play was the longest by River Ridge all game.

After a failed onside kick by the Hawks, MM moved the ball straight down the field with ease and Nathan Wilson scored on a 7-yard run.

With 50 seconds left in the half, MM got the ball back on the River Ridge 30 as Kirkpatrick connected with Dalton Thacker for 18 yards and Jeremy Wolf for 6 before calling a timeout with three ticks remaining and the ball on the 14.

Kirkpatrick zipped a pass that hit Sean Atkins in stride on a slant pattern for another TD that made it 42-6 at the half. Atkins caught three passes for 68 yards and two scores.

“Everyone on offense did their job. They all did great,” Kirkpatrick said. “There’s always room for improvement, but this was pretty close to perfect.”

Kirkpatrick found Atkins on a 43-yard, play-action pass for a touchdown and Wilson added a 30-yard TD run to cap the scoring for the Monarchs.

“Our guys up front really did a good job on the offensive and defensive lines. They pretty much controlled it the whole game,” Perkins said. “That’s what you have to do if you want to win big games. The offensive line takes you to where you want to go. They (the Hawks) did a pretty good job at times, but I think our kids just wore them down.”

Wolf led the Monarchs on the ground with 80 yards rushing while Braydon Poole and Feeney added 49 each. Wilson chipped in 47 and Kinder 31. MM had 280 yards on the ground and finished with 424 total yards.

Monarchs 55, Hawks 13

River Ridge         0       6        0      7 — 13

Mark Morris     28     14     13      0 — 55

MM — Travis Kinder 4 run (Owen Baird kick)

MM — Dan Feeney 31 run (Baird kick)

MM — Kinder 36 fumble recovery (Baird kick)

MM — Cody Molner 44 pass from Scotty Kirkpatrick (Baird kick)

RR — Adam Walker 26 run (run failed)

MM — Nathan Wilson 7 run (Baird kick)

MM — Sean Atkins 14 pass from Kirkpatrick (Baird kick)

MM — Atkins 43 pass from Kirkpatrick (Baird kick)

MM — Wilson 30 run (kick failed)

RR — Kyle Lamm 1 run (Lamm kick)