Jonas Emilsson
www.krammag.com

Win and you’re in.

When it comes to moving on to the post season or putting the football cleats away for good, the above statement is a true litmus test for any team hoping to salvage a sub-par season.

When the Henry Wise Wood Warriors and the John G Diefenbaker Chiefs squared off Thursday evening during this week’s Kram Game of the Week the win and you’re in scenario was in effect for both squads, so obviously somebody was going home disappointed that a season was ending a bit earlier than what pre-season expectations were set at.

When the final whistle blew, it was the Warriors left occupying the final senior boys Div I playoff spot thanks to a narrow 6-3 victory, leaving the Chiefs and the Lord Beaverbrook Lords as the two teams forced into becoming playoff spectators.

For the Warriors, the urgency to rack up some wins began last week against the Lords. A loss in that game would have also put an end to their season.

“In our last game we felt a little urgency because we had to win,” said Warriors’ quarterback Tom Punt. “We finally woke up and said ‘whoa, we have to win this game’, because if we don’t win this game, we’re not going anywhere.”

For three and a half quarters, it appeared as if the Warriors were heading for a playoff-less season, which would be considered a blasphemy by many of the alumni of the proud football centric school well know for producing quality teams year after year.

The only points scored in the first half came courtesy of a 30-yard field goal by the Chiefs. The rest of the half was nothing worth writing home about as both teams struggled with putting their offensive games together.

Typically in a low-scoring game, the defense will get the credit, but even though the defense was good for both teams, it was the lack of urgency and execution by both offensive squads that really stood out.

“I was very discouraged by the lack of enthusiasm that we showed at the start,” said Warriors’ head coach Cody Ehrmann. “You can’t play a football game flat and we’ve been doing that consistently throughout the year. We’ve lost three games by three or less points and I think that represents the enthusiasm that you bring to a game.”

As the second half got under way it was clear that the Warriors had finally found some urgency.

“In our last game we felt a little urgency because we had to win,” said Warriors’ quarterback Tom Punt. “We finally woke up and said ‘whoa, we have to win this game’, because if we don’t win this game, we’re not going anywhere.”

According to Punt, most of the new-found will to compete came courtesy of some well thought out words delivered by Coach Ehrmann.

“We came out really soft,” said the multi-sport athlete. “The speech he gave us at halftime was very similar to last year’s speech at St. Mary’s during the first round of the playoffs that motivated a lot of guys. A lot of guys were moved when they heard that this could be their last half of football. I was one of those guys for sure.”

According to Ehrmann, the words were intended to challenge his offensive players to start making plays.

“We put ourselves in a position where we had to make great plays instead of doing what we’ve been coached to do and being consistent,” he said about his teams early performance. “On the kick-off we deferred and took the ball and we challenged our offense at half and I think they came out and responded in a positive manner.”

The offense definitely did respond by moving the ball up the field, but each time that they came within striking distance the attack stalled short of being able to put points on the board.

But late in the fourth quarter running back Alex Kipp finally crossed the goal line on a short two-yard run. The extra point was blocked, leaving plenty of room for the Chiefs to at least send the game into overtime with a field goal.

But the the Warriors’ defense responded to their offense’s effort by keeping the Chiefs’ offense pinned in their own end.

Thanks to victory the Warriors now have a chance to defend the championship banner they captured last year.

However, this year they’ll enter the playoffs as definite underdogs and they’ll have to go through several exceptionally strong teams to repeat.

“All the excuses we’ve had are now over, and you know what, yesterday doesn’t matter any more,” said Ehrmann. “Now we have to look forward and we’ll get St. Francis or O’Byrne and I think we match up well against most teams provided we play our game.”

More week seven action

The St. Francis Browns and the Bishop O’Byrne Bobcats tied 15-15, giving the Browns the No. 3 seed heading into the playoffs. They will face the Warriors on Wednesday evening. The Bobcats held on to the No. 4 seed and will face the St. Mary’s Saints, also on Wednesday evening.

The Bowness Trojans defeated the Lords 30-6 to lock down the No. 2 seed with a 6-1 record, giving them a bye for the for the first round of the playoffs.

The Notre Dame Pride defeated the Saints 27-0 on Wednesday night to finish the regular season with a perfect 7-0 record. This is their second season in Div I and they have yet to lose a regular season game. They too have a bye in the first playoff round.

Check back next week for complete playoff coverage.