The state's highest scoring Class 1A offense took a half to get untracked, but from there Imbler unloaded on South Wasco County on its way to a 68-46 semifinal victory Saturday.

The third-ranked Imbler Panthers came into Saturday's OSAA/U.S. Bank Class 1A football semifinal game averaging 57.5 points per outing and had been held below 52 points just once all season.

So the Panthers being held to just 16 first-half points by a fast and active South Wasco County defense had to be an apparition, right?

The ticking time bomb which is the Imbler offense went off in a big way in the second half Saturday night at Gladstone High School as the Panthers rattled off 52 second-half points and outscored the Redsides 38-8 over an 18-minute stretch to post a 68-46 victory and reach a state championship game for the first time in school history.

(Imbler had made only seven playoff appearances prior to this season, with its last playoff win coming in 1982).

The Panthers (12-0) will face the 2005 1A state champion Mohawk Indians -- a 37-34 winner over Crane -- Saturday at 11 a.m. at Hillsboro Stadium in the first game of a state championship tripleheader.

After being held in relative check by the Redsides in the first half, Imber's offense -- powered by double-threat senior quarterback Nick Thompson -- put up 30 third-quarter points to take control of the game. Thompson threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more to help Imbler take control of the game.

Both defenses did their best "brick wall" impersonations in the first quarter before South Wasco snapped the scoreless tie on a 28-yard touchdown run by Chad Benson with 3:15 left in the quarter.

Imbler drove 70 of its needed 75 yards to finish out the first quarter, then took an 8-6 lead on the first play of the second quarter on a 5-yard touchdown run by Bryan Mills and a two-point pass from Thompson to Sean Peterson.

South Wasco County regained the lead on its next possession, overcoming a touchdown-erasing penalty when Benson scored from two yards out. Benson also got the two-point conversion run for a 14-8 lead with 8:54 left in the first half.

Imbler took its next possession inside the SWC 20 before the Redsides defense stiffened, allowing just four yards on fourth-and-7 to take over at their own 12. Right off the bat, Benson went up the middle for a 35-yard run, and senior quarterback Michael Burgett took over, hitting Casey Johnson on a 14-yard pass on third-and-6, running for 11 yards on the next play and, two plays later, finding Jerod Warnock in the end zone on a perfectly thrown 30-yard touchdown pass which, after another two-point run by Benson, put South Wasco County ahead 22-8 with 3:05 left in the first half.

Reeling, the Panthers responded, cutting the deficit to 22-16 on a 1-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Mills and a two-point run by Peterson.

That score seemingly killed any momentum the Redsides had in their corner, and the Panthers came out and delivered the knockout blow over the first 18 minutes of the second half.

Imbler took the opening kickoff and struck quickly when Thompson rambled 41 yards for a touchdown and Mills spun into the end zone on the two-point run to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 24-22 just 37 seconds into the third quarter.

The Redsides answered almost immediately, getting a 41-yard kickoff return from Warnock to set up the offense at the Panthers 31. A 19-yard pass from Burgett to Kris Belozer moved SWC down to the Imbler 10 and, on fourth-and-goal from the 1, Burgett swept into the end zone, with Benson's two-point run making it 30-24 Redsides with 9:04 left in the third.

Again the Panthers answered, this time needing just three plays to regain the lead when Thompson hit Mills down the middle on a 60-yard touchdown pass. Thompson ran in the two-point conversion, and Imbler led 32-30 with 8:18 to play.

After holding SWC to a three-and-out on its next possession, the Panthers took over at their own 21 and got a 33-yard run by Thompson to open the drive. Six plays later, Imbler added to its lead on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Mills, with Thompson's two-point run making it 40-30 with 4:27 left in the quarter.

Burgett was intercepted by Mills on the Redsides next offensive play, but SWC got the ball right back when Thompson was sacked by Codey Johnson and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Redsides' Benson. Two plays later, SWC pulled within 40-38 on a 48-yard gallop by Benson and the two-point run from Burgett with 3:14 left in the quarter.

Thompson immediately answered on his own, using three consecutive runs to cover 65 yards and scoring on a 36-yard run, diving to the pylon in the front corner of the end zone to extend Imbler's lead to 46-38 with 1:46 left in the third quarter.

Imbler's defense stuffed the Redsides to get the ball back and the Panthers struck again, using four straight runs by Mills to cover 28 yards before Thompson scored on an 8-yard run (Mills had the two-point run) for a 54-38 lead with 8:48 left in the game.

SWC turned the ball over on downs on its next possession, and Imbler answered by putting the game out of reach, getting a 58-yard run by Mills to set up a 6-yard touchdown run by Jake Noyes (and Thompson's two-point run) for a 62-38 lead with 6:25 left.

The Redsides got the deficit to 62-46 with 2:25 left when Warnock scored from two yards out, but Imbler took its next possession into the end zone, using a 39-yard run by Thompson to set up a 3-yard touchdown run for Mills, giving the Panthers a 68-46 lead with just 1:41 to go.

Two South Wasco County players finished with more than 100 rushing yards as Burgett gained 140 on 16 carries and Benson added 126 on 10 carries with three touchdowns. Through the air, the Redsides struggled as Burgett was just 8 for 22 for 114 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Thompson finished with 377 yards of total offense, including 227 rushing on 15 carries. Mills also exceeded 300 yards of total offense, running for 185 and two touchdowns on 25 carries and catching five passes for 119 yards and three scores.

For a more complete statistical package from Saturday's game, click here.