E.J. Banks rushed for 169 yards and three touchdowns to lead Montour to a convincing 40-14 victory at Yough in the first round of the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs.

Banks carried the ball only seven times and scored on runs of 1, 23, and 72 yards.

Montour (6-4) tied for fourth place in the Parkway Conference, while Yough (5-5) won the Keystone Conference.

Montour also scored on an 11-yard run by Milton Banks, a 5-yard run by Phil Pekich and a 20-yard return of a blocked punt by Garrett McElwain.

Yough's Ben Hoffer scored twice on runs of 1 and 26 yards.

Thomas Jefferson 45 Uniontown 7

Brian Baldrige rushed for 261 yards on eight carries and scored on runs of 99, 37, and 60 yards for top-ranked Thomas Jefferson (9-1) in its win against Uniontown (6-4). The 99-yard run broke a school record, which was set in 1971.

Tyler Wehner completed 10 of 20 passes for 246 yards for the Jaguars and connected with Dan Virgin and Brock DeCicco on scoring passes.

Highlands 49 Laurel Highlands 14

Jeff Sinclair ran for five touchdowns and threw for another, as No. 2 Highlands (10-0) remained unbeaten with a dominating win against visiting Laurel Highlands (4-6).

Sinclair rushed for 183 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 4, 29, 7, 8, and 25 yards. He also connected with Seth Edwards on a 50-yard scoring pass.

Blackhawk 35 Ringgold 7

Zach Hayward threw three touchdown passes to lead No. 3 Blackhawk (9-1) to a convincing victory against visiting Ringgold (6-4).

Hayward completed 11 of 20 passes for 159 yards and connected with Jake Delmonico, Mike Pearson and Chuckie Lipp on scoring passes of 8, 3, and 5 yards, respectively.

The Cougars also scored on a 17-yard interception return by Delmonico, and two field goals by Matt Greiner.

Ringgold scored its only points on a 55-yard run by Simon Bekavac, who totaled 122 yards on 14 carries.

New Castle 53 Franklin Regional 20

Michael Bongivengo, Keith Keene and Brandon Burley combined to score seven touchdowns as No. 4 New Castle (7-3) defeated visiting Franklin Regional (5-5).

Bongivengo scored on runs of 5, 38, and 2 yards. Keene scored on runs of 55 and 45 yards. Burley scored on a 40-yard return of a fumble, and a 99-yard interception return.

Ryan Mihochi scored twice for Franklin Regional, on a 6-yard pass from Steve Libratore and a 74-yard kickoff return.

Hopewell 37 Greensburg Salem 27

Rushel Shell rushed for 238 yards on 27 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 63 and 45 yards to lead No. 5 Hopewell (8-2) in its victory at Greensburg Salem (5-5).

Hopewell's Tyler George added two touchdown passes to Mark Ross and Dayne Smith. George completed 11 of 17 passes for 156 yards. Steve Fagert ran for two Greensburg Salem touchdowns and threw for two more. Fagert completed 13 of 27 passes for 253 yards.

Indiana 21 Trinity 6

The Little Indians (8-2) recorded their first WPIAL playoff victory against visiting Trinity (5-5). Jay Pettina and Ben Fiscus accounted for Indiana's scoring. Pettina rushed for 158 yards on 26 carries and scored on a 1-yard run. Fiscus added 59 yards on 16 carries and scored on a pair of 1-yard runs.

Trinity's only score came on a 4-yard run by Mike Preston.