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Postseason football is rarely subtle.

Waubonsie Valley more than proved that against Proviso West Friday in the opening round of the Class 8A playoffs, as the host Warriors used a physical attack that paid dividends in the second half. With the 38-6 win, fourth-seeded Waubonsie (9-1) moves on to play fifth-seed Oak Park-River Forest, a 28-24 winner over Hinsdale Central.

With so many Proviso players going on both sides of the football, the Warriors took a 14-6 halftime lead and stretched that out in the second half, outgaining the Panthers 177-85 and tacking on a defensive touchdown when Austin Lacke intercepted an Anthony Dorsey pass and rumbled 32 yards for a score with 30.3 seconds to go in the game.

At one point in the second quarter it was a 7-6 ballgame, but Waubonsie finished the night with 31 unanswered points.

“We knew they had speed and when they were fresh they could run with us,” said Warriors coach Paul Murphy. “We had to slow them down by body punching them, and that was the game plan going in. (Class) 8A games are wars, this is tackle football.”

The Warriors were more than happy to run the ball, control the clock and turn the game over to the defense. With Austin Guido leading the way with 157 yards on 33 carries and a touchdown, Waubonsie ran the ball 50 times for 258 yards on the night.

Quarterback Dylan Warden added 37 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, and completed five of his seven passes for 59 yards, including an 8-yard scoring pass to Christian Gibbs in the fourth quarter.

This win also erases the disappointment of a year ago when Waubonsie entered the playoffs as a No. 1 seed and lost 14-7 to Belleville East in the opening round.

“We proved to ourselves we are a good team,” Warden said. “Proviso West is a great team and this is just going to boost our confidence and help everyone play even better next week.”

Dorsey threw for 153 yards and Proviso (6-4) scored its touchdown on a 6-yard run from Jamaal Payton.