ERIE -- When needed, Thomas Jefferson senior running back Brian Baldrige ran through Erie Strong Vincent.

He also ran around the Colonels if the situation required it.

And, when it was all said and done last night on this 100-yard plot of frozen synthetic turf in the northern portion of the state, Baldrige used his 44 carries to run Strong Vincent right into the beginning of their offseason.

With a five-touchdown, 197-yard performance, Baldrige pushed Thomas Jefferson (13-1) to a 35-21 victory against Strong Vincent (13-1) in the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinal at Erie Veterans Memorial Stadium and ran his team one step closer to a second consecutive state crown.

The Jaguars advanced to the semifinals next week, and they will play West York (13-1). They did it riding the crest of a dominant offensive-line performance from Rob McCall, Pat Eger, Shane McNally, Sean Kundrat, Dustin Vissari and Brock DeCicco that enabled Baldrige to go over 2,000 yards for the season and score his ninth touchdown in the past two weeks.

"Our offensive line is just a bunch of mean, physical dudes and we know we can out-physical any team we come across," said Baldrige, his lip bearing a small gash, the tangible remnants of his hard-running style. "Really, they just execute their blocks, and all I have to do is find the hole. It is that easy."

It looked like it would be very easy for the Jaguars last night, until Strong Vincent gathered itself and made a late charge.

The WPIAL champion Jaguars advanced to a 14-0 halftime lead, steamrolling Strong Vincent's defensive front and accumulating 140 yards on the ground in the opening two quarters, paced by Baldrige's 99 first-half rushing yards.

Baldrige scored both Thomas Jefferson touchdowns in the first half, as he took a fourth-and-1 toss and drifted in the clear around the edge for a 19-yard run to put his team ahead, 7-0, then bulled in from the 3 with just 16 seconds left before halftime to make it 14-0.

The latter could have been a backbreaker for the District 10 champion Colonels, but they fired right back and cut the deficit to 14-7 in the early stages of the third quarter when Deonte Flemings took a jet sweep 40 yards.

Baldrige scored twice more in the third quarter to push it to 28-7 before Strong Vincent's Darrell Brooks stormed 13 yards in the late stages of the third and 25 yards on the first play of the fourth to knife Thomas Jefferson's advantage to 28-21.

Thomas Jefferson fended off the late threat, taking the ball 62 yards on 14 plays (all on the ground) in 8:31 to hammer away any remaining Strong Vincent hopes. Baldrige capped that drive -- and his stellar night -- with a 2-yard plunge.

"If you want to win high school football games in western Pennsylvania in November and December, well, you better be able to run the ball," Thomas Jefferson coach Bill Cherpak said. "I really think, at the line of scrimmage, our offensive linemen wore them down."

They did -- and Baldrige did the rest.