STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — The state of the Harrisburg Cougar's playoff hopes didn't look good early on Sunday, but just 24 hours later, their answer came in the form of the State High Little Lions.
Head coach Calvin Everett has been trying for weeks to land a fourth game for his Cougars so they could become playoff eligible. The game had to be completed by Monday night.
On Sunday at 4PM, talks of a game with State College turned into a set-in-stone match up.
"It was something that was mentioned, but there was a lot of uncertainty. It was a long shot, something way in the back of our minds. But then once State High lost to Altoona, and I didn't have any other options, I realized that this could be my absolute last possibility," recalled Everett.
His players never lost hope, even as things looked bleak over the weekend.
"It came out of nowhere, but we just had faith in Coach Cal that he would get us a game," added senior quarterback John McNeil. "He kept us in touch with the details, telling us what was going on, and it was just a great feeling when he said that we had a game."
Now that Harrisburg landed a fourth opponent, the Cougars had even less time to game plan for the Little Lions, though it didn't show in Harrisburg's 41-6 win on Monday afternoon.
"They came here with the mindset of getting a victory and they did a good job of coming out here, remaining focused, and taking care of business, despite everything that's been going on," said Everett.
"It was a great feeling knowing we got a great win, heading towards start the playoffs. We're going to go back to practice tomorrow and get right," added McNeil.