Fairbanks quarterback Jacob Nicol looks downfield for a receiver in this file photo from earlier in the 2018 season. The Panthers will travel to Beverly Fort Frye on Friday for their first playoff game since 2007.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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“It’s exciting and we’ve been soaking it in for the past couple of days.”
Those were the words on Sunday from Fairbanks High School head football coach Patrick Cotter on the Panthers’ berth in the 2018 Division VI state playoffs.
It is the first time FHS has reached this level since 2007.
Fairbanks earned the post-season spot by finishing seventh in Region 23 of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s final computer ratings for the season. Those rankings were released Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers raised their record to 7-3 with Friday’s 21-14 overtime victory over state-ranked Mechancisburg.
In doing so, they defeated the Indians for the first time in 15 years and earned a co-championship (with West Jefferson) in the Ohio Heritage Conference North Division.
FHS will have to go on the road this coming Friday with the 130-plus mile trek to play at No. 2 Beverly Fort Frye (9-0) in the opening round of the playoffs.
Cotter’s four-year tenure as the head coach has been a steady progression of improvement.
After going 0-10 in 2015, the Panthers won two, five and seven games in the ensuing regular seasons.
The Panther boss said the playoff berth is a very important step in that progression.
“This means that the guys trusted the process and trusted me and the coaching staff from the start,” he said. “They realized from the beginning that we were doing things the right way and working to put them in position to be successful.”
Cotter said he never saw what he would call any long-lasting discouragement as the team struggled during the early years.
“After we went 0-10, we won two games the next year,” he said. “At that time, I started to see excitability from the guys.
“We went 2-8 that year, but there were three other games – against North Union, Buckeye Valley and Galion – that we were close, but we couldn’t finish.
“Last year, we went 5-5,” said Cotter. “However, we were in three other games, including against West Liberty, to whom we lost by three points, just like we did this year.
“Our seniors have been fantastic for four years and our younger guys are starting to see that we’re the program,” he said. “There is a lot of pride in Fairbanks High School football. It’s been a great program over the years, but it just needed to get started again.
“These guys realize we’re just as good or greater than anyone else.
“This (the playoff berth) is the culmination of a lot of hard work and trusting in our process over the past four years,” said Cotter.