ORANGE — A much-discussed key component of the MIAA's statewide power rankings is margin of victory. For Franklin Tech, a margin of at least 14 points would have been ideal entering Friday night, if the Eagles could manage to play at a sufficiently high level.

That proved little problem for Tech, which checked in at No. 18 in the Division 8 state power rankings where the top 16 teams advance to the state tournament. The Eagles made their lives easy with a 24-point second quarter and a 32-0 lead at halftime, well on their way to a 46-0 trouncing of Mahar in Intercounty League North action at the Woodward Complex.

Josiah Little ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns and Gabe Tomasi ran for 65, threw for 36 and scored three times on the ground. The Eagles (6-2, 4-1 IL North) also intercepted Mahar's Morgan Softic three times in the first half alone, two by Camryn Laster and one to beat the clock by freshman Hunter Donahue, who turned it into a 22-yard pick-six with only 26 seconds to go in the half.

“We came up with a pretty solid game plan that the kids executed very well, and that was nice to see,” said Tech coach Joe Gamache. “It's a tribute to their character. It's been a fun group all year. We've now done our best, and we'll see if we sneak into the dance. If not, we still have more football to play either way.”

The Eagles have locked up a spot in the eight-team state vocational football tournament and now wait to see if their effort and output from Friday night can vault them into the MIAA's top 16 in Division 8. The MIAA playoff pairings are expected to be released Sunday.

Mahar fell to 1-4 in the IL North and 3-5 overall with a Week 9 assigned game upcoming. The Senators, already missing standout back Ronnie Stone, lost Malaki Grummell to an apparent left knee injury in the second quarter, after Grummell had gotten off to a hot start with 38 yards on four carries.

“We try to prepare these kids to be ready to be the next man up,” said Senators coach Percy Eady. “We're playing with a small roster, you end up with limitations, and you can only do so many things on both sides of the ball. But I did see some bright spots. We've just gotta make sure we groom our horses for the last three games and have a strong offseason.”

Franklin Tech ended with 258 yards of total offense to Mahar's 32 and held the hosts to only three first downs. Mahar never made it into Tech territory all evening.

Laster's first interception and a 9-yard return gave the Eagles their first series at the Mahar 44, helped along by an offside penalty and an unnecessary-roughness call. Tomasi dove in from the 1-yard line for the opening score, then hit Nathan Sabolevski with the two-point conversion pass, to put Tech up 8-0 with 1:59 in the opening quarter.

Tech then started at its own 47 following Laster's second pick and needed only seven plays and 2:18 off the clock. Little went off right tackle for a 20-yard scoring run, with Tomasi adding the two-pointer, for a 16-0 lead.

Mahar then went for it on fourth-and-4 from its own 38 and Donahue and Travis Eastman combined for a sack of Softic back at the 27. The Eagles took over on downs and were back in the end zone four plays later, this time on Tomasi's second 1-yard plunge, and his two-point run made it a 24-0 game.

Donahue then grabbed an underthrown ball and ran it back 22 yards for Tech's fourth touchdown of the half. Tomasi found Ethan Smarr with the two-point pass and the Eagles brought a 32-0 cushion to the halftime break.

Franklin Tech poured it on with TD chunk plays from Tomasi (50 yards) and Little (36 yards) to push the game into running-time territory for the entire fourth quarter.

Jayden Delgado came up with Mahar's only forced turnover of the night, a late fumble recovery. He also caught two passes for 17 yards. Softic finished 5-of-9 through the air for 12 yards.

Five different Tech receivers caught passes from Tomasi, who also went 5-for-9 Friday.