Grain Valley coach Forrest Rovello knew what his Eagles had to do.</p><p>It was the third quarter of the Eagles&rsquo; Missouri Class 4 regional playoff game against Hickman Mills on Wednesday night, and two back-to-back touchdowns had just cut Hickman Mills&rsquo; deficit to two points.</p><p>Hickman Mills had all the momentum, and Rovello knew it.</p><p>His answer?</p><p>&ldquo;We got here by running the triple option and we&rsquo;re never going to get away from that,&rdquo; Rovello said.</p><p>Grain Valley stuck to Rovello&rsquo;s game plan, using running plays almost exclusively the rest of the way to add three more touchdowns, run out the clock and walk out of the stadium with a 51-34 victory.</p><p> Grain Valley led 14-0 in the second quarter, thanks to two touchdown passes by quarterback Austin Gouldsmith to receiver Zach Hoover and running back Riley Williams.</p><p>Hickman Mills made it 14-14 with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jerrin Walton to receiver Zach Dawkins and a 38-yard touchdown run up the middle by Walton. Grain Valley responded with a touchdown run of its own by Ryan Nace from 18 yards out to take a 21-14 lead at halftime.</p><p>Grain Valley extended its lead to 14 points early in the third quarter when Gouldsmith connected with Hoover again, this time on a 49-yard touchdown pass over the middle. </p><p>But Hickman Mills refused to go down without a fight. Walton scored on an 8-yard touchdown run on the Cougars&rsquo; next possession, though the extra-point attempt was foiled because of a bad snap.</p><p>Walton came through again just a few plays later, recovering an option pitch that bounced off a Grain Valley player&rsquo;s head and returning it 31 yards for a touchdown. The Cougars&rsquo; two-point conversion failed, but they trailed only 28-26 at that point.</p><p>That&rsquo;s when the Grain Valley Eagles recommitted themselves to their running game. After a prolonged offensive drive that featured plenty of running plays, Grain Valley running back Trace Goade scored from 2 yards out to give the Eagles a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter. </p><p>Grain Valley took a 43-26 lead midway through the fourth quarter with another long offensive drive, capped by a 5-yard run by Gouldsmith and a two-point conversion.</p><p>Although Hickman Mills, which ended its season 6-5, scored another touchdown, Grain Valley&rsquo;s lead was simply too much to overcome. Grain Valley was content to grind out first downs and use up the clock on a final scoring drive.</p><p>Grain Valley improved to 9-2.