BURLINGTON — Amesbury attempted just one pass in its semifinal football matchup against Cohasset, but that does not mean the offense wasn’t explosive.

The rushing attack, led by Max and Michael Sanchez, ran ragged on the Cohasset defense during a decisive 48-28 victory over the No. 2 seeded Skippers to advance to the Div. 7 state championship game.

“(Reaching the state championship) is everyone’s goal,” Amesbury head coach Collin McQueen said. “These guys have earned every last bit of it. We want to be the team that we see ourselves as, that we believe we are. We want to play the best and we want to beat the best.”

For Max Sanchez, who had 222 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries, a mistake on the defensive side of the ball sparked his offensive outpouring.

“I missed a tackle and they scored, and I got kind of angry,” Sanchez said. “I was annoyed about that and told myself it was time to work.”

The Redhawks started with the ball and Michael Sanchez made his presence felt on the opening play, dashing for a 67-yard touchdown. He would record an interception on the defensive side of the ball and Christian McGarry would end up scoring on the other end to give Amesbury a 16-0 lead.

The Skippers had no intention of going down easy, responding with a touchdown from Liam Appleton in the second quarter. After forcing a quick punt, Max Monahan would score a touchdown and cut the deficit to just three points.

When Amesbury got the ball back, the ground-and-pound offense would continue and Michael Sanchez delivered the next dagger and the RedHawks would enter halftime with a 24-13 lead.

“We’re an offense where 10 of our guys have their hand in the ground,” McQueen said. “The only guy who doesn’t is the quarterback who is taking the snap. We like to cultivate some toughness and develop football players.”

This is when Max Sanchez took over, getting three touchdowns on 59, 40 and 65-yard runs to put the game out of hand.

“It’s really our line,” Max Sanchez said. “They bully that defensive line every single play, play after play after play. The holes we hit are like the Grand Canyon. They are all top-tier linemen In the state and I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

Cohasset would muster two scores in the second half but could not match the RedHawks explosion that has the team gearing up for the opportunity to take the gridiron at Gillette Stadium.

“It’s honestly surreal,” Max Sanchez said. “I never thought I would make it this far and I cannot wait. I’m ecstatic. There is a lot of work to do though.”

Amesbury’s Robby Dalton (9) is brought down after a big run by Cohasset’s John Shannon on Friday night in Burlington. Amesbury rolled to a 48-28 win. (Photo by Amanda Sabga/Boston Herald)