GLADSTONE — There was no stopping the Gladstone Braves here most of Saturday afternoon as they romped to a 51-14 football triumph over the Elk Rapids Elks in a Division 6 district playoff opener.

The second-ranked Braves scored on their first seven possessions, gaining a 51-0 advantage on a four-yard run up the middle by junior Austin Solis with two minutes, 46 seconds left in the third quarter.

This marked the first playoff victory in 14 years for Gladstone (8-2) which hosts Manistee (7-3) in a district final this weekend. Elk Rapids finished 6-4.

“Their coach said they felt good about the situation, but it’s hard to see our speed on film,” said Braves’ coach Craig Ness. “I think we kind of caught them off guard. We saw a couple things on film we could exploit.”

The Braves took a 6-0 lead on their first play from scrimmage when senior running back Cole Potier broke through the Elks’ line, then dashed 62 yards along the right sideline for a touchdown.

“Cole took care of that by running hard,” said Ness. “He got a good surge and moved them off the ball. Aaron Hughes got a good block on the right and Wyatt Cole and Josh Racine took care of the rest. I think the tone was set in practice. We had a good week and the first quarter was about the best we played all year.”

Gladstone hiked its lead to 14-0 when junior quarterback Nate Young faked a handoff to Potier, then scampered 11 yards into the end zone with 62 seconds left in the first quarter.

“We wanted to start fast,” said Young, who passed for 185 yards and ran six times for 43. “Cole is a great runner and football player and Aaron is really helping our team a lot. We noticed they were playing the pass a little soft which left the underneath routes open. We were able to take advantage of that.”

Potier gave the Braves a 22-0 cushion early in the second when he broke several tackles through the middle on a 13-yard run.

Young then tossed a screen pass to Potier for an 84-yard TD, making it 30-0 with 3:03 remaining in the second.

With 63 seconds left before halftime, Gladstone made it 37-0 on Young’s 18-yard aerial to junior Kaden Gibbs.

Gladstone struck quickly after the half as sophomore Casey Alworden took the kickoff and dashed 86 yards for a score and a 44-0 advantage.

The Elks, who fell to the Braves 34-0 at home last season, did all their scoring in the fourth on two passes by junior QB Chase DeArment.

“The guys kept fighting,” said Elks’ coach Nate Butte. “We’ve been working on that all year. They’re a well coached team. They have a lot of talent and speed for sure which is hard to contain. They’re way better than last year. They have the talent and drive.”

Gladstone’s balanced attack, split 50/50 between the run and pass, produced 402 yards.

Potier led the Braves in rushing with 103 yards on eight carries.

The Elks finished with 195 yards, including 168 through the air.

DeArment hit 13-of-23 passes. Senior Carter Veliquette caught four for 58 and classmate Ryan McGuire grabbed four for 49.