METAMORA — There’s no place like Malone.

Or so said Metamora’s freshly painted breakaway banner of its home football field before a 36-14 win over Class 5A first-round visitor Decatur McArthur on Saturday.

The Redbirds gave the new artificial turf a first playoff victory and won back-to-back first-round games for the first time since the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Metamora (8-2) heads to Highland at 2 p.m. next Saturday for a second-round game.

“Playoff wins on Malone Field are great,” Metamora coach Jared Grebner said. “… These are the games you live for.”

Added quarterback Nick Rhoades, “It’s a very historic field, so adding something new to it is just even better.”

First-round coverage: All the scores | Updates and recap | Top performers | Peoria High loses tough game

Metamora (8-2) used a vintage ground performance, rushing for 478 yards, five touchdowns and tearing off 8.4 yards a carry. Rhoades turned in a career night with 202 yards on 14 carries with two TDs.

A week after rushing for 113 and two touchdowns against Dunlap, the 6-foot, 170-pound senior shared rushing duties with sophomore running back Jaiduan Cranford, who finished with 188 yards and a pair of scores. That duo along with Evan Kiel (93 rushing yards) ran behind the stout offensive line of Alex Lehn, Kaden Keefer, Boston Cox, Ty Dykes and Landon Cowper.

“We were great in the run game,” Rhoades said. “We really didn’t have to pass. … We were just dominating the run game, so we just kept running the ball.”

Cranford uses his elusiveness to find seams and a quick burst to break off big gains. Kiel, on the other hand, runs downhill and can punish defenders in his way.

“They feed off one another,” said Grebner, who helped guide Metamora to its 66th playoff victory. “It’s almost like they compete with one another … it’s healthy competition. When you have guys competing with one another within the team dynamics and staying within their roles, it’s always a good thing.”

Plus, it should come as no surprise that Rhoades is having a standout season. He played behind Kaden Hartnett last season, waiting for an opportunity to step up when his number was called.

Becoming QB1 was a culmination of several factors, including putting in countless hours behind closed doors.

“I just worked,” Rhoades said. “Worked in silence. That’s all you can really do. Just worked for my senior year to be great as best as I can.”

Mix an offense clicking with a defense making stops and it was a long afternoon for the Generals (6-4).

But this wasn’t before MacArthur went ahead 14-8 early in the second quarter. Freshman linebacker Myson Johnson-Cook, who holds Division-I offers from Illinois, Iowa, Penn State and Nebraska, picked up a fumble and ran it back 97 yards for a score.

Metamora football: What happened to the grass from Malone Field? One fan gave it a new home

The Redbirds, however, settled in and allowed just 186 total yards (112 passing, 74 rushing) and nine first downs.

“I think our defense, we practice this enough,” Metamora linebacker Cameron Nickel said, “we just came out here and dominated every play. We knew what our job was supposed to be. We just came out and got it done.”

Nickel posted a team-high seven tackles with Wes MacNeil adding five and Sam Begole picking up a sack. Defensive back Avery Grebner was tasked with trying to keep Johnson-Cook in check and was successful.

He didn’t catch a pass and rushed 12 times for 58 yards.

“That was really the gameplan,” the elder Grebner said, “that we had to take away their bread-and-butter and try to make them beat us somewhere else.

“…The kids executed and that came with a great week of preparation in practice.”

Sam Owens caught three balls for 100 yards to lead MacArthur.

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Metamora football uses run game to defeat Decatur MacArthur in IHSA playoffs