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When Alcoa and Loudon last met, the Tornadoes jumped out on top and never looked back.

On Friday night, few things changed.

After a pitching a shutout to end the regular season against the same foe, Alcoa continued its domination of Loudon with a 34-0 victory in the third round of the Class 2A playoffs.

The Tornadoes (12-1) will host Marion County for the right to advance to Murfreesboro and play for another state title.

"There have been times on offense the past few weeks where we haven't been sharp for whatever reason," Alcoa coach Gary Rankin said. "But the bottom line is you have to win the game. The defense is playing incredible right now. We made some plays when we had to, but we made some bad turnovers."

Rankin's squad used three touchdowns in the opening quarter to squash any hopes the Redskins (8-5) had of an upset.

After quarterback Chase James found Tyler Robinson to eat up 31 yards to open the game, James and Robinson lit up the scoreboard for the first time with an 11-yard strike.

The Redskins then did what no team should do against the Tornadoes -- help them.

A zero-yard punt gave the ball to James and the Alcoa offense at the Loudon 32-yard line. Little resistance led to a 1-yard scoring run by Cameron Foster.

Alcoa then went up 21-0 after one of Jaron Toney's two interceptions gave his team the ball at the Redskins 30-yard line. A 25-yard pass from James to Steven Isom did the damage on the third possession.

"It felt good to have great field position every time," said James, who finished the game 8 of 12 through the air for 141 yards and three touchdowns. "We have been working on execution all week, and that kind of field position helps a lot when it comes to scoring."

Alcoa added two fourth-quarter touchdowns -- one on another James to Robinson connection and the other on a 13-yard scamper by backup quarterback Austin Tallant.

But the game was not without a few negatives. Sophomore defensive end Darryl Warren left the game in the second quarter with what Rankin called a strained back and did not return.

In addition to Warren, Robinson appeared to injure a shoulder but managed to finish the game. Linebacker Nathaniel Robinson exited the game in the second half due to a stinger he has battled for several weeks.

Yet the battered Tornadoes now await Marion County, which will travel to Blount County for a 7 p.m. kickoff next Friday. Marion County defeated Boyd-Buchanan, 7-6, to advance to the semifinals.

If Boyd-Buchanan had won, it would have meant a road trip for the Tornadoes. But because of the Marion County win, Alcoa will only have to travel for the state title game.

"That's great news for us. That's the best news we had all night that we get to stay at home for the semifinals," Rankin said. "I don't know anything about (Marion County). I know they must be a good football team to be in the semifinals, so it will be a great battle next week."