Robbie Jones threw for three touchdowns, with Malachi Bennett on the receiving end of two of them, as the third-seeded Colts cruised to a 36-8 win over the 14th-seeded Hawks at George Byrer Field at Freedom Bank Park in Class AA opening-round action.

Friday evening’s game was a rematch of a regular-season contest, also won by the Colts, 49-22.

Now, Philip Barbour gets a playoff rematch next weekend against No. 11 Clay County, which knocked off No. 6 Roane County, 42-12, on Friday.

Philip Barbour defeated the Panthers, 28-17, in the first-round of the 2024 playoffs at home.

Owen Johnson (62) and other Philip Barbour defenders converge on South Harrison’s Landon Ross on Friday night.

The second meeting with the Hawks was a much-closer affair, as South Harrison concentrated on ball control and limiting the Colts from big plays on special teams.

Philip Barbour had three kickoff returns for touchdowns against the Hawks back on Oct. 3.

The Colts held South Harrison on downs on the first series of the game, leading to an 18-yard strike from Jones to Poling with 7:58 left in the first quarter.

Freshman Ayden Thorne added his first of four successful conversion kicks on the night.

The game remained 7-0 until Landyn Carpenter busted loose for a 54-yard touchdown just 10 seconds into the second quarter to treat Philip Barbour to a 14-0 lead it took into the intermission.

Despite having limited possessions on offense for most of the evening as the Hawks ran the ball 50 times in trying to control the clock, the Colts found the end zone with 9:50 left in the third when Jones again hooked up with Poling for 16 yards on a third-and-10 conversion to extend the lead to 21-0 and give the hosts some breathing room.

South Harrison, however, answered with a 13-play, 72-yard march to get on the board.

Quarterback Madden Maxwell capped the drive on a 1-yard sneak, then ran in the conversion to cut the lead to 21-8.

The final points of the game belonged to Philip Barbour.

A 40-yard scramble by Jones was followed by the sophomore quarterback hitting Mason Jones, who rumbled for a 39-yard jolt to the end zone after taking a short pass.

Tyler Vance, who had multiple tackles-for-loss on the defensive side of the ball from his linebacker spot, added a 67-yard touchdown run with 5 minutes left in regulation. Vance also caught the two-point conversion.

Vance led the Colts with 104 yards rushing on the night on just four totes.

Carpenter, who shook off an injury suffered early into the second half, added 86 yards on the ground on 11 carries and Robbie Jones finished with 75 on six attempts.

Poling had three receptions for 32 yards.

Junior Landon Ross had 62 yards rushing on 21 tries for the Hawks, who finished the season 6-5. Collin Seguin contributed two catches for 44 yards.