EVERETT — R.A. Long stayed tough with third-ranked Archbishop Murphy through the first half, but a strong third quarter by the Wildcats propelled them to a 35-10 victory over the Lumberjacks in Class 2A state playoff football action at Mariner High School on Saturday.

The loss ended RAL’s season at 8-3. The Jacks were making their first appearance ever in the state playoffs.

“We played tough defense and hung with them tough in the first half,” RAL coach Erik Bertram said. “They (the Wildcats) came out in the second half and we couldn’t stop their momentum. They didn’t get a big play on us in the second half, but we couldn’t slow them down. It was a slow death.”

The Wildcats led 7-0 after the first quarter, and RAL cut the deficit to 7-3 at halftime after a 42-yard field goal from Kaleb Carr. Archbishop Murphy had two long drives for touchdowns in the third quarter, and picked off an RAL pass and returned it 50 yards to paydirt to take a 28-3 lead into the fourth period.

“We had four plays in the third quarter,” RAL assistant coach Dave Anderson said. “Our first series went three-and-out. We got the ball back in the closing seconds of the quarter, and had our pass picked off on the first play and returned for a touchdown.”

Austin Wegdahl completed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Johnson for RAL’s touchdown in the fourth quarter. RAL finished with 109 offensive yards, including 63 in the ground. Quarterbacks Wegdahl and William Yordy combined to complete 6-of-15 passes for 44 yards and two interceptions, Sergio Vazquez carried the ball four times for 33 yards and Wegdahl had three carries for 33.

Defensively, Dylan Hopkins had a quarterback sack, Tyler Weaver recovered a fumble, and Kersey Krieger and Thomas McCall also played well.

“This game got a little out of hand but we did what we could,” Bertram said. “The good things about the game will move to the front as the days go on. We had a great year, and we hope to build on it next season.”