The Hayfield controversy is something no one expected; from being banned from postseason contention to the ban being lifted, and now the surprising withdrawal from the playoffs, which caused the whole playoff picture to go up in a circus.

With Hayfield being the number one seed, they were dropped out of the playoffs, resulting in the playoffs being fully changed. Once reinstated, they were brought back to the number one seed, knocking out Robinson. We were originally going to play Robinson, but the schedule changed again, with Hayfield’s return in the playoffs resulting in the playoffs getting changed again. That resulted in the football team playing on Thursday the twenty-first, Tuesday the twenty-sixth, and Saturday the thirtieth, making it three games in nine days, which was the first time that had happened. 

“When we learned about that, we were mainly upset about player safety, because usually, after a game, the players would get Saturday and Sunday off. With the condensed schedule, we didn’t have those rest days. I think our boys handled it very well, but it wasn’t ideal,” said Coach Haggett about the situation.

“[The players] were tired, they were beaten up with no days of rest. It affects them physically, and when you’re tired physically it affects you mentally,” Coach Doc said. “It took away a lot of rest time, but on the other hand, I think it made us better.”

“It was interesting. Everybody was exhausted physically and mentally. We knew who wanted to be there and who didn’t. It was also emotionally overwhelming because we were practicing three hours a day, which was long and hard. And we also scored fourty points or more each game, so everyone was happy, and we were all proud of ourselves,” junior end Marcus Gilmore said. 

The first game of the playoffs was against the Mount Vernon Majors. It was an easy game with the football team coming up on top, 56-6. Ty Jackson threw 8-13 for 183 yards and 3 touchdowns. The offense combined for over 500 yards. It was a great effort by both sides of the ball.

Against the West Springfield Spartans, Suris and Jackson combined for a total of 354 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 54-19 win. The defense played a big part in the win with three interceptions. 

“The defense put in the work and the offense built on that,” Gilmore said.

When facing the Fairfax Lions, we emerged victorious 40-25. Peyton Holmes rushed for 92 yards, three touchdowns, and only eight carries. 

“The offense stepped up. The defense came up and cleaned it at the end. The fourth down stops were very pivotal, and I feel like that pushed us to victory,” Gilmore said. 

Saturday, Dec. 12, marked the day of the State Semifinals. The Madison Warhawks earned their spot in the VHSL Class 6 state final with their win over us. The score was 42-19. This loss ended a 10-game winning streak. Despite the loss, the football team had some phenomenal individual player stats. Despite turnovers, Ty Jackson threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns. On the receiving end, Kai Austin racked up 201 receiving yards with three touchdowns. Robert Holien had 6 catches for 94 yards. 

Despite the challenges throughout the playoffs, the football team managed to go all the way to the state semifinals. Even if we fail to repeat, it is still impressive how far the team went and hopefully, we’ll get our revenge next year.