MURRAY — The Cottonwood Colts showed there is more to them than just Isi Sofele and Steve Romero, as the defense captured the spotlight in a 44-7 home playoff win Friday over the Bonneville Lakers.

The Colts' defensive unit held Bonneville to just 176 yards of total offense and zero in the third quarter. Defensive end James Washington made a number of plays for the Colts, including a 28-yard interception return on a failed trick play by the Lakers. Awuley Quaye and Dalton Snook sacked Bonneville backup quarterback Manaia Filiaga in the end zone for a safety in the third period as well.

"Our defense really picked it up from last week," Colts coach Cecil Thomas said after the game. "They did everything we asked them to do. Our coaching staff got them ready to play, and it was a great effort by the kids."

Sofele and Romero still had strong performances as the Colts' offense amassed 449 yards. Romero completed 21-of-39 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, while Sofele picked up 138 yards on 26 carries. Besides scoring a touchdown, the senior tailback also broke the state record for rushing attempts in a career (now 741) late in the fourth quarter.

"We take what's working at the moment, and they keyed on Isi so we threw it to get him open a bit more," Romero said. "They had seven guys coming no matter what the play was, and he still tore it up."

The Colts jumped on the scoreboard first when Spencer Larsen took a Romero pass in the backfield and streaked down the sidelines for a 48-yard touchdown. Sofele added another first-quarter touchdown for a 14-0 lead.

Washington's defensive score placed the Lakers in a 21-0 hole midway through the second. The Bonneville offense responded with a drive sustained by quarterback Todd Aubrey and a number of Cottonwood penalties. Austin Land scored on a dive to give his team their only points on the night.

Any momentum they had hoped to secure died when Cottonwood's Alo Moli took in another Romero touchdown pass late in the second for a 28-7 halftime advantage.

Despite being clearly outmatched, Bonneville was still able to find some positives. The team was able to frustrate Cottonwood into 13 penalties for 112 yards and forced Sofele to earn every yard he gained. Linebacker John Hughes picked off a Romero pass for a second-quarter interception.

But the night belonged to Cottonwood, which remains undefeated and moves on to Rice-Eccles Stadium and the 4A semifinals next week.