Being road warriors isn’t quite as hard when you have a Jett.

That would be junior Jett Feeney, the dynamic Moorhead quarterback who rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more as the Spuds defeated Centennial 35-21 in a Class 6A state quarterfinal matchup on Thursday night at Spring Lake Park High School.

The Spuds (7-4) — who have now had to make the three-and-a-half-hour-plus drive to the Twin Cities metro seven times, including the last four weeks, in their first season in Class 6A — advance to meet the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal between Maple Grove and Lakeville South in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 14 at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The Cougars finished their season 9-2 overall.

“We’re definitely used to traveling,” said Feeney, who threw for 245 yards while rushing for 31 more. “Almost every other week, we’re coming down to the Twin Cities it seems like.

“But we see it as an advantage for us. We like the challenge.”

It was a neutral site Thursday, but the trip from Centennial High School to Spring Lake Park was 6.8 miles. Moorhead, meanwhile, traveled just over 228 miles.

Yet, the Spuds showed no sign of travel lag on their first possession. After taking over on the Cougars’ 38-yard line following a shanked punt, Feeney kept the drive alive with a 24-yard pass to junior Taye Reich on 4th-and-7 at the 35.

Two plays later, the quarterback scored untouched from 7 yards out to put his team on top 7-0.

Spuds head coach Kevin Feeney — Jett’s father — said getting out to an early lead was important against a team like Centennial, which thrives on controlling the ball with its running game.

“That’s what we talked about all week long,” Kevin Feeney said. “Somehow, some way, we had to get stops on defense. We felt like we had some opportunities offensively to get out in front, and if we could play from ahead, that might make them have to do some things they weren’t comfortable with.”

But the Cougars’ offense was up for the challenge, answering back on a 50-yard touchdown run by senior Calvin Coppersmith to tie the score with 2:55 to play in the first quarter.

The Spuds scored touchdowns on all three of their first-half possessions, leading 20-14.

“You just have to make stops here and there,” Cougars coach Mike Diggins said. “You can’t start out the way we did tonight against a team like this.”

Feeney suffered a shoulder injury during the second game this fall and did not return until a victory over Edina in the regular-season finale on Oct. 15.

The team went 1-4 during the stretch he missed. It’s 4-0 since.

“Our offensive line really raised their level of play when Jett was out,” said Kevin Feeney, whose team is trying to win its first state championship since beating Winona 13-7 in the old Class AA classification in 1987.

The Spuds have earned another trip to the Twin Cities next week — this time to play at U.S. Bank Stadium.

“We had a lot of doubters coming into this year making the jump to 6A,” Jett Feeney said. “This whole season, we’ve been trying to earn respect.

“I think we’ve done that now.”