On Friday, November 8, the Highlands High School football team played their first 2024 playoff game against Collins High School. There are some notable differences between their preparations for the regular season and playoffs.
“Getting prepared to play better teams and just the consistency is a big part of going into the playoffs. A lot of it just goes into detail with what we can do each day to just get better as a team and prepare for whatever challenges come up,” starting quarterback Mario Litmer (11) said.
Leadership also plays a big role in the playoffs. Every team needs to have strong leaders to keep the team going and in the game.
“It’s not just one or two people who lead the team every game, it’s more of everyone keeping each other going for the next play,” Head Coach Bob Sphire said.
Many players’ mindsets also change for their important playoff games which are win or go home.
“I’m very confident and very trustworthy in my team and my coaches and my o-line and my receivers and defense to really stop the opponents and make sure that we’re always up,” Litmer said.
The entire team has also relied on watching film of their opponents throughout the season to try to ensure their win. They will rely on watching film even more for the playoffs, which may have different opponents.
“Film is something very important to me, I watch film every day as much as I can just to make sure I’m always prepared for what the defense is going to bring,” Litmer said.
Team chemistry is also a large part of being able to win games. If your team doesn’t trust each other, then the team may not play to the best of their ability.
“I think team chemistry is something that we started off really slow at the beginning of the year, but week by week, I think we got better to the point where we’re like a family and I think going into the playoffs,” Litmer said.
