Greenwood hadn’t won a playoff game in four years or even hosted one in six years before Friday night.

As senior running back Noah Pillow said, one can imagine how hungry the team was when it lined up against Graves County on Friday in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.

“We were ready to eat a horse, basically,” Pillow said. “It had been a long time and to have a home playoff game at Greenwood, that’s a big thing that doesn’t happen very often. We were ready to give the big crowd something they wanted.”

The Gators dominated both sides of the ball and whipped the Eagles by a score of 38-6.

It was the first playoff win since for GHS (9-2) since beating Ohio County in 2011 in its first home postseason game since facing St. Xavier at Gator Stadium in 2009.

The Gators, ranked No. 7 in this week’s 5A Associated Press poll, will face Owensboro next week in the second round for a spot in the state quarterfinals. The Red Devils, ranked No. 2 in 5A, shut out Grayson County 69-0 on Friday in their first round game.

Greenwood stamped its ticket to that matchup by outgaining GCHS 372-168 and keeping the defending state runner-up Eagles (5-6) out of the end zone.

“No doubt, we were hungry all week,” senior tight end/linebacker Preston Fletcher said. “You could tell at practice all week, coaches were telling us, ‘Do what you’re supposed to, do what you’re supposed to.’ We were ready to get out here tonight and show what we could do.”

Offensively, the Gators rushed for 357 yards and only 45 of those came from their leading rusher, sophomore quarterback Jackson Adams.

Sophomore fullback Xezayier Snorton was a workhorse, carrying the ball 24 times for 173 yards and a touchdown.

Senior running back Noah Pillow was just as effective, going for 127 yards and three scores on 14 carries.

“It wasn’t Jackson Adams, it was everyone else,” Greenwood coach Chris Seabolt said. “… That’s a tribute to our offensive line.”

Defensively, the Gators held Graves County to a pair of Hunter Ivey field goals.

Fletcher came up with two key sacks that stalled Eagles drives, and he and junior cornerback Kyan Brumfield both grabbed second-half interceptions of Graves quarterback Ryan Mathis.

Defensive coordinator William “Howard and our defensive staff did just an absolutely outstanding job,” Seabolt said. “I’ve watched those guys in practice on a weekly basis … and I’ve watched our defensive coaches work with those guys. They’ve done an amazing job.”

Greenwood opened the game with an eight-play, 72-yard drive.

Pillow capped that series by taking a toss 7 yards for a score. Senior kicker Tanner South’s extra point gave the Gators a 7-0 lead with 8:26 left in the first quarter.

“We came out and our main goal was just to get after them quick, get up big and get their hopes down, break them apart and keep pounding,” Pillow said.

Graves County responded with a long drive of its own. But it stalled out in the GHS red zone when Fletcher sacked Mathis for a 10-yard loss on third-and-8.

Ivey then missed a 40-yard field goal, keeping the Greenwood lead at 7-0.

The Gators doubled their lead on their next series – a 13-play, 79-yard march.

The big run on the drive was a 29-yard carry by Snorton on third-and-2 down to the Eagles’ 17.

Snorton finished the series six plays later with a 1-yard plunge into the end zone. South’s extra point made it 14-0 with 9:17 left in the second quarter.

Graves County got on the board with 2:20 remaining in the half on a 41-yard Ivey field goal that trimmed the margin to 14-3.

That series included Fletcher’s second red-zone sack of the night, dropping Mathis for a 9-yard loss that dashed the Eagles hopes for a TD.

“We brought pressure, a blitz of some sort, on almost every single play,” Fletcher said. “Coaches told us even if we didn’t get a sack to put our hands on them and let them know we’re there, because we’re coming next play.”

South got those three points back on the final drive of the first half. He kicked a 22-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to make the halftime score 17-3.

Graves got the first points of the second half, coming on a 24-yard Ivey field goal to make the score 17-6 with 5:45 left in the third.

The Greenwood defense was “very upset with the fact they scored that second field goal,” Seabolt said. “… But if you kick field goals you get your butt kicked, and that’s what I told our kids when they came off the field.”

Greenwood responded with a 20-yard drive – aided by a Graves County roughing the punter flag – that ate up 80 yards and almost nine minutes of clock.

Pillow finished that series with a 2-yard TD carry to make it 24-6 with just 9:08 left in the game.

After a Fletcher interception the Gators pushed that lead to 31-6 with 4:03 to play.

Adams hit Fletcher on a fourth-and-11, 15-yard tight end screen that went for a TD. It was GHS’ lone pass completion of the night.

Pillow finished things off with a 43-yard touchdown gallop, his ninth score of the season, to make the final margin of victory 38-6 for the homestanding Gators.

“I’m just so proud of our kids, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Seabolt said. “They did a great job all night. To hold those guys to six points is a tremendous accomplishment.”

GCHS 0 3 3 0 — 6

GHS 7 10 0 21 — 38

First quarter

GHS – Pillow 7 run (South kick), 8:26

Second quarter

GHS – Snorton 1 run (South kick), 9:17

GCHS – Ivey 41 field goal, 2:20

GHS – South 22 field goal, :00

Third quarter

GCHS – Ivey 24 field goal, 5:45

Fourth quarter

GHS – Pillow 2 run (South kick), 9:08

GHS – Fletcher 15 pass from Adams (South kick), 4:03

GHS – Pillow 42 run (South kick), 2:06

— Follow Daily News sports reporter Brad Stephens on Twitter at twitter.com/stephens_brad or visit bgdailynews.com.