EAST ALTON/WOOD RIVER - Tied for the second place in the Prairie State Conference, the East Alton Wood River High School Oilers (5-2) football team grasped their playoff spot after last week’s 46-7 win against Mt. Olive.
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This is also the first time that the Oilers have qualified for the playoffs in exactly 10 years, when the team was still in the South Central Conference. The team fell to Effingham High School in the first round with a heartbreaking loss of 21-20.
The team’s push towards the playoffs has been long and difficult, but according to head coach Garry Herron, the boys’ confidence and focus throughout the last few weeks of the season has paid off with dividends.
“Midway through the season, we knew that we had to win three games to stay in it,” Herron said. “My coaching staff and I told the kids that if they wanted to be in the playoffs, you have to win three back-to-back games.”
The turning point for the season came after the Oilers’ Oct. 1 loss against at Pawnee High School. The Saturday afternoon game resulted in a 10-point deficit against the Indians with a final score of 42-32.
After the battle at Pawnee, the Oilers adopted a new mindset with one goal: playoffs. Ever since then, the team smashed Kinkaid-South Fork Co-op, Nokomis and Mt. Olive to secure their spot in the postseason.
“We challenged them,” he said, “and they responded.”
This Friday, the Oilers will be travelling to Carlinville (8-1) to face the SCC Champions. The Cavaliers, who had won eight of nine matchups during the regular season, slid through their opponents throughout all nine weeks of play. The team fell to Pana High School 25-23 at home, a 2-point upset for the Cavaliers, in their only loss for the season.
“We used to compete against then when we were in the SCC. They’re a tough opponent,” Herron said. “Coach Easterday’s kids are all very football smart and it’s, in a way, nice to be somewhere close and familiar, but you enjoy playing somebody that you’ve never seen or heard of before.
Though he and his coaching staff would love to take the credit for the Oilers’ success, Herron can only commend his boys for pushing through and making their dreams become a reality.
Heading into Friday’s game, Herron believes that his team can do everything in their power to make tonight’s match a solid game on the gridiron.
“Just like every coach, you’re thinking about if you got your kids in the right places, see that the kids go out and do their job and play to the best of their ability,” he said. “If they do what they’ve been taught to do, we will see where the chips fall after that. “
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