Sandra Day O'Connor's turn-around football season continues tonight, as the No. 3 Eagles host No. 6 Basha in the 6A playoff quarterfinals. In getting to this point, the Eagles secured a playoff berth and winning record for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Coach Steve Casey gave the players Saturday off after a 31-3 drubbing of Mountain Ridge in the season finale to move to 5-3. The coaching staff felt the victory, after coming in as the No. 8 team, likely solidified their spot in the postseason. They just did not know where.
They kept an ear on the AIA's bracket reveal show while going over game film from the night before.
The 1-8 matchup was revealed with little surprise to the Eagles. Highland and Casteel took No.'s 4 and 5, where the majority of the Eagles thought they might be.
“We weren’t expecting a playoff home game or a high seed. Maybe a four or five-seed, and when we saw it it was just crazy," said junior linebacker Brandon Craddock.
Queen Creek was No. 2. Chaparral was No. 7. Were the Eagles the No. 6? For a fleeting moment, Casey said he thought they might even be left out of the bracket entirely.
The number 3 popped up for O'Connor, and the Eagles celebrated.
“When it revealed we were No. 3, to say we were ecstatic as a staff would be an understatement. Being able to come home in the playoffs and get some of our students in that haven’t been to a game all year because they can open up the ticket sales online was pretty special," Casey said.
Getting to this point was a slow process. The Eagles struggled to start the regular season, going 2-3 through five games.
From there, a young defense tasked with learning a new scheme in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic clicked together, giving up just a total of 15 points in the final three games of the season.
In addition, a potent, senior-led offense got back a healthy senior Donavin Fontaine at running back - he sustained an injury early-on that limited his production for a few contests - to add another scoring threat.
“We knew we could be great. We just had to get it through our heads that we could actually do this," Fontaine said.
“The culture has changed so much, this is just a testament to it.”
Casey believes that culture and buy-in from his roster, more than sheer talent, has gotten the Eagles to this point. He said O'Connor has actually had more pure skill in years past despite less wins, though it still boasts plenty of stud playmakers in 2020.
He has been impressed with his kids' following of Coronavirus precautions, as well as their commitment to excellence in a trying season.
Also, the Eagles have simply finished when they had the chance.
“We had some really close games the last few years that we didn’t win when we had a chance to. This year those that games we needed to win we got over the hump," Casey said.
O'Connor will need to put all of the elements that have driven it to success into place tonight, as the hot Eagles host an equally-hot No. 6 Basha, riding its own six-game winning streak and boasting a 6-2 record.
While the Eagles want to continue the run as far as possible, a playoff seed and winning record with plenty of quality talent set to return gives O'Connor hope it can find itself in this situation again moving forward.
"It is a stepping stone to a new future. The relationships we have and now we're all encouraging each other, it's promising," Craddock said.
No. 3 Sandra Day O'Connor hosts No. 6 Basha in the 6A quarterfinals on Nov. 27. The winner will move on to play the winner of No. 2 Queen Creek and No. 7 Chaparral.
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