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GARDINER — For the better part of two quarters, this was a competitive game between two football teams expected to be in the mix in Class C.

Then, Gardiner’s passing game and defense kicked into gear, and turned an appetizing opening-week clash completely on its head.

Gardiner scored three touchdowns in a span of two minutes late in the first half Friday, breaking open what was a 7-0 defensive battle. The end result was a 37-6 victory for the Tigers, who made an early statement to the rest of the statewide class.

“Nokomis is a good team that’s really tough inside, and we told our guys, ‘You’re going to have to match their intensity,’” said Gardiner coach Pat Munzing. “They weren’t going to just lay down for us; our guys had to move forward and seize it, and they did.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Gardiner’s defense excelled at all three levels. The Tigers put pressure on Nokomis quarterback Colt Robinson, wrapped up the Warriors’ running backs in the open field and limited the visitors to just 4 passing yards with a strong performance in the secondary.

• Gardiner’s passing game overwhelmed Nokomis. Quarterback Issac Madore — 30 pounds bigger than last year, Munzing noted — looked comfortable in the pocket. The junior connected with Justin Doody for big gains on screens, and Chase McGrane made some impressive catches on deep balls.

“(Issac) has really taken a leadership role this offseason in making himself a better player in understanding the concepts of our passing scheme and our run scheme,” Munzing said. “He’s much calmer now because things have slowed down for him, and he can see those things now.”

• All of that culminated with the remarkable two-minute sequence at the end of the first half. With 2:09 left, Madore hit McGrane for a 56-yard touchdown pass. The Tigers then quickly stuffed Nokomis, after which Madore found McGrane for a 35-yard score that made it 20-0 with 22 seconds left.

Then, on the next play from scrimmage, Evan Bullock sacked Robinson and popped the ball free. Sophomore Connor Berard picked up the fumble and sprinted 40 yards to the end zone.

“That’s every lineman’s dream,” Berard said. “It’s not every day you get to do that, and it’s all thanks to Evan. … He strip-sacks it, and I see it on the ground — I almost tripped and fell — but I just picked it up, and I hoped no one could catch me.”

WHAT IT MEANS

• Gardiner’s defense, expected to be a strong unit, looked every bit the part. It looks as if any team with Class C title aspirations must have a plan for a ferocious Gardiner defensive line that boasts remarkable size in the 6-foot-6 Bullock and the 6-2, 285-pound Berard.

• Nokomis goes back to the drawing board after a tough loss. The Warriors couldn’t take advantage of Gardiner committing 15 penalties for 100 yards. In one instance, the Tigers turned a second-and-40 into a first down after a long run and a Nokomis personal foul.

“You’re going to have games like that with mistakes and bad turnovers, that’s just how it is sometimes,” said Nokomis coach Jake Rogers. “Them playing on the turf with their speed, that’s something we don’t have. We play on grass, and we go slow. That’s just who we are, and it makes it tough.”

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

“They’re a really good team, but we just beat them down enough. We played hard enough that they couldn’t sustain it for too long.” — Connor Berard

STAT LEADERS

• Gardiner: Issac Madore (9 of 16, 216 yards, two touchdown passes), Justin Doody (13 carries, 85 yards, two touchdowns; three receptions, 62 yards), Chase McGrane (4 catches, 117 yards, two touchdowns; interception)

UP NEXT

• Nokomis: vs. Hermon (1-0), 1 p.m. next Saturday

• Gardiner: at York (0-1), 6 p.m. next Friday