"Pottsgrove is a good team," Vikings senior quarterback Joey Monaghan said, "but we jumped on them right away and took care of business."
Next weekend, in a semifinal at a site and time to be determined, Wood (12-1) will face District 11 titlist Allentown Central Catholic (9-5), a 56-14 winner Friday over District 4's Shamokin Area.
Last year, Allentown Central Catholic ousted Wood, 49-27, en route to the crown.
"We've been thinking about that game ever since we lost last year," Monaghan said. "We want to make up for that more than anything. We're happy to get the chance to play them again."
In the first half against Pottsgrove, the District 1 champ, Monaghan completed 4 of 5 throws for 122 yards and two scores.
After Desmon Peoples opened the scoring with a 52-yard burst, wideout Nate Smith turned a short pass over the middle from Monaghan into a 30-yard TD.
In the second quarter, Monaghan, after faking an inside handoff to Peoples, found a streaking Smith for a 75-yard tally that made it 28-0.
"It was a play-action post," the southpaw QB said. "When Nate is in a one-on-one situation like that, I'm pretty confident that he's going to make a play on the ball."
With a little less than two minutes left before intermission, Peoples' third TD run, a 4-yarder, gave the Vikings a 35-0 advantage and put the mercy rule into effect at the start of the second half.
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Monaghan is hearing mostly from Division I-AA schools, including Georgetown, Colgate, Bucknell, and Holy Cross.
Wood's first-team defense limited Pottgsrove (11-3) to 38 yards (33 rushing, 5 passing) and two first downs.
"We ran into a juggernaut," longtime Falcons coach Rick Pennypacker said. "They're big, they're fast, they're physical, and they have explosive speed."
Against Wood's reserves, Pottsgrove quarterback Tory Hudgins ran for a 4-yard TD and hit Johnny Fowler for a 49-yard score. With 7:52 to play, Steve Ambs blocked Kevin Sullivan's punt and made an end-zone recovery.
"I won't let this overshadow what we did this season," Pennypacker said. "We overachieved from Day 1."
Pottsgrove 0 0 7 15 – 22
Archbishop Wood 21 14 6 0 – 41
AW: D. Peoples 52 run (Visco kick)
AW: Smith 30 pass from Monaghan (Visco kick)
AW: D. Peoples 11 run (Visco kick)
AW: Smith 75 pass from Monaghan (Visco kick)
AW: D. Peoples 4 run (Visco kick)
AW: McMullen 24 run (run failed)
P: Hudgins 4 run (Bleakley kick)
P: Fowler 49 pass from Hudgins (Ludy run)
P: Ambs recovered blocked punt in end zone (Bleakley kick)
Contact staff writer Rick O'Brien at 610-313-8019, robrien@phillynews.com, or @ozoneinq on Twitter. Read his blog, "The O'Zone," at www.philly.com/ozone
