OAKVILLE — A year ago, after beating Fox to capture a district title, the Oakville football team lost to the visiting Warriors a couple of weeks later in the Class 6 quarterfinals.

Not this time.

With memories of last year's disappointment still fresh in their minds, the Tigers started strong and never let up, blowing by Fox 45-17 in a Class 6 quarterfinal rematch Friday night.

"Last year, I think maybe we were a little satisfied, just kind of happy to be there,'' senior quarterback Joe Plassmeyer said. "But this is a team with a lot of seniors, a lot of guys who remember that feeling of getting beat by Fox at our place. We were determined not to let it happen again.

"All week, the coaches talked about starting strong, about punching Fox in the mouth right away and never letting up.''

And that's exactly what the Tigers did to earn the school's first trip to the state semifinals. Oakville (9-3) advanced to play next weekend against the winner of today's Lafayette/Hazelwood Central game. The Hawks (10-1) host the Lancers (8-3) in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m.

"At this point, we feel like we can compete with anybody,'' said Plassmeyer, who led the way Friday by completing 22 of 28 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder also ran nine times for 60 yards and a score.

"Joe's been good a lot for us over the last few seasons, but he was definitely on top of his game tonight,'' Oakville coach Arlee Conners said. "But it wasn't just Joe. All our guys came to play tonight. We set the tone early and we just never let up.''

Oakville fullback Darnell Cooper ran for 70 yards and two scores. Plassmeyer, who completed passes to eight receivers, hooked up on touchdown throws to Michael Cyliax (5 yards), Dallas Terry (12 yards) and Paul Taylor (15 yards).

"We have a lot of weapons on this team, and it's my job to get them the ball to make plays,'' Plassmeyer said. "And the offensive line was great, too.''

Oakville took the opening kickoff and marched 72 yards on 12 plays to take the lead on a 1-yard run by Cooper. The Tigers took advantage of Fox turnovers for two more scores midway through the opening half, going up 15-0 on a Plassmeyer sneak with 1:01 left in the first quarter and 21-0 on a 5-yard pass at 11:36 of the second quarter.

Jordan Clerkley had two touchdown runs for Fox (9-3), which trailed 30-10 at halftime.