The varsity football team will appear in the playoffs this Friday for the first time in four years and will compete against Haltom high school.

The team finished the regular season last week 6-4, their first winning season since 2010, putting them in the top four teams in the district.

Head coach Kendrick Holloway said making the playoffs felt amazing and was well deserved for the players, coaches and the community.

“We earned our right to go to the playoffs this year,” Holloway said.

Senior linebacker Cade Mayo said being able to secure a spot in the playoffs this year was pretty exciting considering in his first two years on the team they didn’t even come close.

Holloway said his goal this year for the team wasn’t just to make it to play-offs, but to compete for a state championship.

“The standard is a standard,” Holloway said. “We’re raising the bar.”

He said they were close last year to making playoffs which fueled the players and coaches to put in the work during the off season.

He challenged the team on August 5th to “write their own story for the 2024 season” and to not let outsiders tell them how their season is going to go.

Holloway said ever since he got the job as head coach last year, he wanted to assemble a coaching staff that was passionate and detailed in coaching the players. He wanted to set “team philosophies” where they can have fun playing football.

“It’s like a change in the culture,” senior wide receiver Evan Tabora said. “We’re all working harder and everyone feels that change and energy.”

Holloway said they changed their football practices to spend less time on the field, more time to study films and to prepare for the mental aspect of the game.

Mayo said the team supported each other throughout the season by being there for each other especially when someone is feeling unmotivated.

“[We] rally around them and would be like ‘Hey, we appreciate you being here, let’s go get to work,'” Mayo said.

The team bleached their hair, a tradition that started at Southlake Carroll and caught on at other schools. Tabora was the first to dye his hair, then the rest of the team followed.

“It was just a unique way of showing everyone that we made playoffs,” he said.

Mayo said the tradition brings the team together, especially in a game when they walk on the field looking similar to each other.

“It’s more intimidating when you play against that,” Mayo said.

Holloway said the coaches came together last weekend and put a game plan in place by watching their opponent’s film and finding what they can capitalize on for their players to be successful.

“We put our kids in successful situations where they can play fast, they can play physical and they can play relentless effort on every play,” Holloway said. “I always tell our guys the game is going to be won during the week, Monday through Thursday.”

Mayo said since Haltom’s football team runs a different offense than what they’ve played all year, the coaches changed their defense to adapt.

“I think coming out early and dominating them from the beginning is going to be huge for us,” Mayo said. “I think if we do that, it’s going to be a big win.”

Holloway said he told the football players when they left the practice field on the last day before the game that today was the mental part of it and to get ready for tomorrow.

Players said this is the best team they’ve had in a decade, and making playoffs is a good springboard for recruiting future classes to play football.

“We’re all locked in and we’re all excited because we all want to go make history together,” Tabora said.