If Polo looked to get its offense fine-tuned before heading into the Illinois 8-Man Football Association playoffs, it picked the game to do it.

Polo ended the regular season with a 70-42 nonconference win over South Beloit to potentially enter the playoffs with a top-five seed, with pairings to be revealed Saturday.

Marco junior running back Mercer Mumford and senior quarterback JT Stephenson provided most of the offense for Polo (8-1), logging 336 yards of the Marcos’ 440 and all but one of their 10 touchdowns. The pair connected on pass plays for two scores, Stephenson added four TD runs, and Mumford had two TD runs and a 89-yard kick return on a reversal after Stephenson’s catch.

Junior running back Jordan Reed’s 68-yard TD run in the fourth quarter had the Marcos crack 70 points for the first time this season.’

“Overall, it was a pretty good game,” Mumford said. “We had some lows, but we managed to pull through to get the victory. Our line held up great when they needed to, and picked up our big guys when they needed to. Our backs hit the holes and helped us get long runs.”

The Marcos overcame a lost fumble on an early punt return to lead 14-8 at the end of one quarter after a 32-yard score by Mumford and his kick return, and led 32-14 at halftime after two scores from Stephenson and one by Mumford.

“It took us a couple of tries to get going,” Stephenson said. “We dropped a punt to give them two offensive possessions in a row, but we pulled it off.”

The Sobos (7-2) got as close as 40-28 in the third quarter after scoring back-to-back touchdowns for the only time. Senior quarterback/defensive back Kaden Cook started the run with a three-yard TD at 4:24 to cap a drive that began with his interception of a Stephenson pass at the 50. Sophomore Cristobal Ortega recovered the following onside kick to give the Sobos the ball back, and Jaycee Schober capitalized on it with his third rushing touchdown at 2:14.

Senior lineman Wyatt Plachno captained both lines of scrimmage and blocked a punt in the fourth quarter.

“Our line did pretty good and did our assignments correctly. Our D-line did pretty good for what it is and filled holes when they needed to be filled.”

On the ground, Polo had triple-digit nights from Mumford (23 carries, 220 yards) and Stephenson (15-162). Junior running back Chase Herrington led the Sobos with 107 yards on 18 carries.

Marcos senior Quinton Hart added an onside kick recovery after a Stephenson run put Polo ahead 46-28. Mumford also snared an interception on defense.

Polo, a two-time 8-man state champion, heads to the postseason once more with its only loss coming to Milledgeville, 28-6, in Week 4.

“We’re looking pretty good and hoping to get a No. 3 seed,” Plachno said. “We’ll definitely be state championship competitors.”

Pairings for the 8-man state playoffs will be released Saturday.