Jordan Todd said he was a bit tired after playing twice in four days and preparing again for a game Saturday.

It’s hard to blame the Interlake junior running back. After all, he scored 11 touchdowns in those two games, getting plenty of work on the ground as the Saints rebounded from a tough loss last week to win the West Central District play-in game Tuesday.

“In practice Wednesday and Thursday I could barely run,” Todd said. “But just like coach told us, we just had to tough it up and go.”

And go he did. Four days after scoring seven touchdowns against North Mason, Todd reached the total again to lead Interlake to a 54-35 win over Clover Park that sends the Saints to the Class 2A state playoffs.

The junior rushed for 297 yards and seven scores on 24 carries, helping the Saints rebound from an early 20-7 deficit. The big night gave Todd 18 touchdowns in his last three games.

“He’s unbelievable,” said senior captain and safety J.T. Capers. “There’s no stopping him.”

Todd’s big night helped Interlake (3-8) rebound from a disastrous start. Clover Park kicked off to start the game and the ball took a strange bounce off an Interlake front line return man. The ball bounced right back and Clover Park was able to recover. The Warriors, led by Washington State-bound quarterback Tana Pritchard, scored just over five minutes later on a fourth-and-goal pass from Pritchard to Malcom Brown from eight yards out. Clover Park (5-5) forced Interlake to punt on their next possession and the Warriors needed just three plays to add to their lead with a 4-yard run by DeShawn Moses.

Todd got the Saints on the board later in the first quarter with an 8-yard touchdown run. Pritchard quickly led the Warriors back into the end zone early in the second quarter with a 5-yard run, just one of his three rushing scores of the night.

Then, trailing 20-7, the Saints reeled off 14 straight points on a 60-yard touchdown run by Todd and a 34-yard pass from Matt Malos to Ryan Turman that came four plays after the Interlake defense forced the Warriors to turn the ball over on downs at the Saints’ 20-yard line.

27 of the Saints 54 points came following Clover Park turnovers.

“It’s great to know that your offense can score once you put them in the position to do it,” Capers said. “It gives the defense a break and it’s just a great momentum thing.”

The back-and-forth battle continued when Pritchard scored on a 5-yard run and Clover Park went ahead 28-21 with a successful two-point conversion.

Then the Saints took over. Todd scored a 1-yard touchdown run with just 27 seconds left in the half, then added third quarter scores of 7 and 20-yards that put the Saints up 40-28.

“Our mentality today was we have to get to the state playoffs and we don’t care who was in our way,” said offensive tackle Colton Faber. “I don’t care if it was the Seahawks out there, there was no stopping us.”

Pritchard scored the Warriors final points on a fourth quarter 1-yard run, but Todd followed that up with touchdown runs of 22 and 7-yards that sealed the deal and sent Interlake back to the state playoffs.

Limiting the 6-foot-4, 220-pound Pritchard was key for the Saints. Pritchard, the younger brother of former Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard, son of former WSU center David Pritchard and nephew of WSU and NFL quarterback Jack Thompson, passed for 252 yards and rushed for 61 but couldn’t break through with big runs thanks to the Saints defense. He was also intercepted by Scotty Gehlhausen, Alex Giseburt and Kamana Adriano.

“We just wanted to make sure we had a spy who made sure he didn’t break contain,” Capers said. “It worked for the most part because he didn’t break any big plays like he did on film.”

Moses led the Warriors with 119 yards on 25 carries. Malos went 8 of 13 for 203 yards passing for Interlake.

With the win, the Saints return to state for the third straight season. The Saints have lost in the first round the past two years – in 2008 to Lynden, and last year, to Mark Morris.

“They can fear us now,” said Capers. “Our record may not be the most intimidating, but teams know now.”

Note: The game was delayed nearly 25 minutes after Clover Park senior defensive back and wide receiver Jordan Palomar was injured on the second half kickoff return. Palomar lay motionless on the field until medics arrived, stabilized his neck and back and took him off the field on a stretcher. Palomar reportedly lost feeling in the left side of his body and was transported to the hospital.