NORMAL — Senior quarterback Dennis Hightower did it all on Saturday night for the Vikings.

He ran for nearly 200 yards in the second half. He scored three touchdowns. And, he made two game-changing interceptions. The only thing he didn’t do was drive the bus.

But Hightower did drive Danville in the IHSA Class 6A quarterfinals with a 40-27 victory over the Normal West Wildcats in a second-round playoff game.

“He’s our war horse,” Danville coach B.J. Luke said “There are a lot of great quarterbacks in this state, but I’ve got the best football player at my quarterback position.’’

Hightower finished with 262 rushing yards on 40 attempts and his final carry was a 26-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.

But, those were not the plays that he felt changed the game for the Vikings (10-1).

“The interceptions were my best plays,” said Hightower, noting his first one came on the goal line to preserve Danville’s 21-0 halftime lead. “I know I can run the ball behind our line but the interceptions were game changers.’’

And that was definitely the case on his first pick which came on the final play of the first half.

Hightower snagged the throw from Normal West’s Alex Jefferson right on the Danville goal line and he then used a few moves and some blockers to get it all the way to the Normal West 25-yard line.

Braxton Miller for the Wildcats made a touchdown-saving tackle.

“Man, I should have taken that one all the way back,’’ Hightower said. “I just ran out of gas and he caught me from behind. I’m going to have to run harder in practice next week.’’

But, the turnover kept Normal West (10-1) from scoring right before half.

“That was a big momentum changer,’’ Hightower said. “Now, if I would have scored, it would have been a bigger swing for us.’’

Hightower saved his best running for the second half carrying the ball 27 times for 195 yards and touchdown runs of 3 and 26 yards.

“Dennis is a playmaker,” said Danville senior offensive tackle Dennis Rose. “When we needed him he made some big plays, he is there for us.’’

As a team, Danville ran for 369 yards as junior running back William Morris finished with 102 yards and two touchdowns.

It was the sixth time this season that both backs ran for more than 100 yards in a game.

“Our running game is what we rely on,’’ Rose said.

Countering Hightower’s offensive exploits was Normal West’s Alex Jefferson.

The Wildcats junior quarterback was 22-of-38 for 274 yards and he also ran for 142 yards.

Jefferson accounted for three of his team’s fourth scores with two passing touchdowns and one rushing.

“We knew they would get some yards, but we kept them out of the end zone just enough,” Luke said. “These are a bunch of Danville kids that don’t know the word quit.”

While the Viking defense allowed 295 yards in the fourth quarter, after allowing just 163 in the first three, they also forced the Wildcats into four turnovers.

In addition to the two interceptions for Hightower, Danville junior James Brigham had a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.

That was followed by a perfectly executed onside kick, recovered by Danville’s Cirron Clark.

Eight plays later, Hightower was scoring his first touchdown to give the Vikings a 21-0 lead.

Danville extended its lead to 28-0 with 2:28 left in the third quarter on a 3-yard run by Hightower, who followed that with a spectacular interception, going up and over the 6-foot-4 Austin Stewart.

Just when it looked like the Vikings were going to roll into the quarterfinals, Danville’s William Morris fumbled and Normal West linebacker Brady Boitnott scooped it up and raced 40 yards for the touchdown.

That ignited the Wildcat sidelines and started their furious comeback.

When Jefferson hit Stewart with a 20-yard scoring strike with 3:10 left in the contest, Normal West had pulled within 34-27.

Danville fans were quickly reminded that the Wildcats scored nine points in the final 2:38 on Sept. 23 to earn 15-14 win over the Vikings, snapping their 23-game Big 12 win streak.

“They took away our Big 12 title, but we were not going to let them knock us out of the playoffs,’’ Rose said. “We wanted revenge and we got it.’’

This time around, the Wildcats were unsuccessful on three onside kick attempts and the Vikings added one more touchdown for a little comfort.

Not only did the victory give Danville its 10th win for a third straight season, the Vikings accomplished a rare feat by beating all three Bloomington-Normal schools on their home fields.

“I don’t know if any team has ever done that,’’ Luke said.

Danville will host the Peoria Richwoods Knights, a 51-36 winner over Crete-Monee, in a Class 6A quarterfinal contest next Saturday at Ned Whitesell Field.

Normal West ends its year with a school-best win total of 10 and a Big 12 Conference title.