SAVANNAH, Mo. — With his team off to a sluggish start, Mark Cole had no reason for concern. Not with his predatory defense roaming the field.

The second-year Savannah coach watched with joy as his Savages throttled St. Pius X 47-0 on Friday night at Savage Field in front of an overflow crowd at Savage Field. Savannah forced seven turnovers, returned two of them for touchdowns and reveled in a dominant Class 3 regional victory.

In the playoffs for the just the second time, the Savages hope to continue their postseason run Monday when they travel to O’Hara.

“We felt like our defense was going to spark us tonight,” Cole said. “Our kids have a very go-for-the-throat mentality. We’re just like sharks swarming at you. We get some momentum, and we’re pretty dangerous.”

Savannah (8-3) appeared jittery from the onset and fumbled the ball away to St. Pius on each of its first two possessions. The turning point came shortly after the second lost fumble.

After picking up a first down on penalty yardage, Warriors’ freshman quarterback Grant Gavin dropped back for a screen pass but threw the ball directly into the waiting arms of Savannah linebacker Derek Yost — who rumbled 18 yards for the pick-6 score.

On the ensuing drive, Savannah’s Blake Burson sent the crowd into a frenzy when he scooped up an Anthony Zicarelli fumble and raced 53 yards untouched to give his team a 14-0 lead. Before the end of the half, Chandler Hanna also recorded two more interceptions — giving the Savages five in the first two quarters alone.

Each of St. Pius’ first three possessions ended in interceptions.

“We’ve always been a strong run-stopping team, and that was our main focus this whole season,” Hanna said. “It was kind of a surprise to step up and make that many interceptions in a game.

“It was just a great all-around game for our secondary.”

Shortly after the defensive spark, Savannah’s offense leapt into gear.

The Savages reached the end zone on three of their next four possessions in the second quarter thanks to touchdown runs from Quinton Peak and Darin Trautman and Hanna’s acrobatic catch-and-run. Already well in control, Peak scored his second rushing touchdown on a 40-yard burst early in the third quarter, and the running clock was on.

“I think our defense is the backbone of our team,” Hanna said. “When our defense is playing good, it fuels our offense to play good. It just gives us that drive that we need.”

The Savages’ team mentality paid dividends for a multitude of starters on both sides of the ball. Six Savages reached the end zone, while five recorded inceptions — including Yost, Trautman, Hanna, Blake McFadden and Brett Smith.

Smith’s impressive, high-concentration pick came late in the fourth quarter — allowing the team to take a knee and preserve the shutout against the Warriors (4-7). It marked the third shutout of the year for the Savages.

“I think it meant a lot to us,” two-way Savannah starter Kaiser Haag said. “We had a lot of confidence going into the playoffs and to get a shutout like that is amazing to all of us.”

The dominant performance allowed Cole and his staff to finally let down their guard in the second half after sweating through nail-biting contests three of the past four weeks. Savannah is likely to endure another closely contested matchup next week against the high-powered Celtics offense.

But the Savages certainly enjoyed the second playoff win at home and first since 1996.

“I felt like, because of that, our kids really deserved to come out and put a team away,” Cole said. “They did that, and it felt good to breathe a sigh of relief.”

Peak led Savannah’s offense with 94 yards and a pair of scores on just 11 carries, while Roach passed for 48 yards and a score on just four attempts. He did not attempt a pass in the second half.