As a fifth-year senior, University of Charleston defensive lineman Danilo Morales had gotten more accustomed than he's wanted to with the phrase "almost, but not quite." He's been on Golden Eagles football teams that have come close to securing the program's first postseason berth, but always fell just short.
Morales and the Golden Eagles finally get their taste of the playoffs Saturday, as fourth-seeded UC will host fifth-seeded Indiana University of Pennsylvania at noon in the first round of the Division II bracket.
"It's nice not to be the bridesmaid for once," Morales said. "We came out, set a goal at the beginning of this year and achieved it. It feels right. It feels like it's our time and it's pretty cool."
Saturday's UC-IUP winner will visit undefeated Mountain East champion Shepherd in the second round. UC coach Pat Kirkland admitted he was a little surprised that, after sitting third in Super Region One since the regional rankings began this season, the Golden Eagles (10-1) fell to fourth behind third-seeded Assumption. But he was ecstatic that Charleston reached this milestone and will begin the playoffs at home.
"I'm excited for our players and our program about where we're at," he said. "I'm happy we have a home game and we just have to do our job this week."
The Crimson Hawks (8-2, 6-1 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference), coached by former WVU quarterback Curt Cignetti, suffered those two losses each by one point. IUP fell to Kutztown, 34-33, in its season opener then lost to Slippery Rock, 40-39. The Crimson Hawks sport the PSAC's top scoring defense (17.5 points allowed per game) and an offense that averages 37 points per game.
The Golden Eagles, the MEC runners-up, lost only to top-seed Shepherd. UC led the conference in rushing (243.5 yards per game) and finished second in scoring (42.9 points per game). And, despite several injuries and the loss of five all-MEC first-team picks from last season to graduation, the Golden Eagles ranked third in the conference in points allowed (25.6 per game).
"We're going to have to play our best, we know that," Kirkland said. "I'm excited about the week's preparation."
That preparation is what Kirkland stressed to his team both before and after it watched Sunday evening's playoff selection show. That is much of what helped the Golden Eagles break in two new quarterbacks, weather the injuries it did on defense and still tie the school record for wins in a season.
Sixth-year quarterback Jeremy Johnson, whose arrival and emergence as the Golden Eagles' starter helped boost its offense and make its passing game even more of a threat, said focus shouldn't be a problem at all this week.
"We're starting from scratch," Johnson said. "We know if we put our heads together and just grind, we've made it this far, imagine what we could do if we go out there and work even harder."
Even though this is UC's maiden voyage into the Division II football playoffs, Morales thinks the Golden Eagles enter the practice week with confidence.
"We're definitely coming in with a chip on our shoulder," he said. "We feel just as good as any team out there."
They'll also enter the week knowing they've achieved something that so many UC football players had only been able to dream about. The team will push as hard as it can to keep its postseason alive for as long as it can, Morales said, but it won't forget what it already has accomplished.
"It's something we're going to cherish as a team for a long time," he said. "I know, personally, I've been here with teams who were close before and it really hurt to watch those seniors put the work in and not get there. It feels good. It's gratifying. It's everything we thought it would be."