For the first time since its week-one statement victory over Bothell, Issaquah’s sideline was clear of crutches and casts.

And the Eagles took full advantage of their refreshed roster on Saturday night, cruising past previously undefeated Marysville-Pilchuck, 36-18, at Everett Memorial Stadium.

“We just kind of got back to playing Issaquah football,” said head coach Chris Bennett, noting that five starters returned to the lineup.

Issaquah struck quickly in the state-qualifying game against the WesCo North Champion and No. 5-ranked Tomahawks. On the first play from scrimmage, senior quarterback Joey Bradley ran a play-action fake and found tight end Sean Stuby open down the left sideline. Stuby spun off multiple tackles and went 56 yards to the Marysville 2-yard line. After a false start penalty, junior running back Grant Gellatly ran up the gut for a 7-yard score — just 25 seconds into the game.

“It was big,” Gellatly said of the quick strike. “We felt like the past couple of weeks — especially against Woodinville — we’ve been coming out flat. We didn’t exactly know what it was.”

After botching the PAT snap, holder Ryan Bergman scrambled free and found Joe Camporeale open in the front corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 lead.

Issaquah fed off its early momentum and dominated the offensive line the remainder of the contest.

“We said all week ‘We have to stop them up front,’ and the scout team brought it this week. We had an amazing week of practice,” said senior center Dillon Reagan, who hadn’t played since injuring his hand Oct. 17 against Skyline. “We had to bring it up front, and we did.”

The Eagles grabbed a 22-0 lead at the 11:13 mark of the second quarter after a 3-yard TD from Gellatly and a 1-yard score from Dustin Talley. Gellatly, who added a 21-yard score in the second half, ended the game with 19 carries for 163 yards and three TDs. Talley had 11 carries for 70 yards, as Issaquah racked up 259 yards on the ground.

Quarterback Joey Bradley was also efficient in the first half, completing 9 of 10 passes for 180 yards. He hit Ross Zuhl, one of the five returning starters, on a 10-yard touchdown on a fade rout with 22 seconds left in the half.

“We wanted to get back to kind of doing what we doing what we do — a nice mix of run and pass and being physical …,” Bennett said.

Marysville countered before halftime when Caleb Posey took a handoff 61 yards down the right sideline into the end zone. The long touchdown brought the score to 29-12, and helped Posey to a nine carry, 161-yard performance.

“After giving up that cheap touchdown, we weren’t very jacked at halftime. We were upset and we needed to come out and play a solid third quarter, and we did,” Bennett said.

The Eagles held Marysville, which had 233 rushing yards in the first half, to 85 in the second half. The Tomahawks’ only 1,000-yard rusher, Austin Denton, was held to just 37 yards for the game.

“It’s so good after what happened last week,” said Reagan, referring to last week’s 21-0 home loss to Woodinville. “To come back like this is exactly what we needed.”

The victory moved Issaquah (8-2) into the first round of the state tournament. The Eagles host Kentwood (8-2) at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15. Issaquah’s last trip to state was in 2006, when the Eagles fell 21-0 to Bellevue in the first round of the 3A tournament.

Issaquah vs. Kentwood

Kickoff: 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15 at IHS

Quick look: Kentwood has won its last seven games and has a strong playoff tradition. The Conquerors have made the post-season the last 10 years, with their last state appearance coming in 2005. Kentwood is similar to Marysville-Pilchuck in that it relies heavily on the run. Darrius Coleman (6-foot, 185) leads the Conqs with 1,354 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. Joseph Banks (5-9, 185) has 503 yards on 58 carries and eight touchdowns.

Prediction: Issaquah got healthy last week and showed that it could return to the form of the early season. The Eagles also proved they could shut down Marysville’s one-dimensional run attack — something they will see again this week. Final score: 30-14 Issaquah.