With fall sports coming to a close, it is time for all our teams to start their playoff runs, hoping to make it all the way. All their hard work in the offseason and during the regular season comes down to each game they play in the playoffs.

The football team’s record is 4-5, with their last game against Westerville South on 10/25. On the edge of the playoffs, they are starting to set their eyes on the prize.

“The playoff atmosphere feels different within practices and games. In practice, the intensity and focus are turned up because we know it is win or go home,” senior corner Braden Pullins told us.

In a win-or-go-home game, the mentality is different because one little mistake could be the reason that the season ends, and for seniors like Pullins, the end of their career. Nobody is ready for the season to end, so they have to focus so they continue to play week after week.

After the 0-10 season last year, not a lot of people would have expected the Kilbourne Wolves back in the playoffs, but the football has worked hard to turn the season around since last year.

“I know our team is excited for this opportunity because it is another opportunity to prove everyone wrong and bounce back from last year. We just have to be that much more focused and intense throughout practice that week, and it will carry its way to the game,” Pullins added.

The Wolves are looking for their first playoff victory since 2020, where they made a run to the third round of the state playoffs.

While the football playoffs are set to start on 11/1, both the boy’s and girls’ soccer teams are deep into their playoff runs.

The boys, on Wednesday, won their first district championship since 2019 with a 4-0 win against Mt. Vernon.

“To win districts felt surreal, to win the districts and dedicate the game to the seniors from last year who were so close felt so achieving, and to add that to my personal accomplishments for my senior season ties it together perfectly,” senior captain Alex Vicente said.

Playoffs mean a lot to everyone on the team, but to seniors, it means something different; when that playoff run ends, so does their high school career.

“As a senior, preparing myself for the playoffs includes constantly reminding myself to play my heart out and leave it all out on the field because an opportunity like this doesn’t come around every day,” Vicente added.

The boys continue to try to keep their season alive when they play Westerville Central next Wednesday at a neutral site.

The Gsoc team won their match against Franklin Heights on 10/18 by a score of 8-0 to advance to their first district final in 11 years, but fell to Bishop Watterson on Thursday night.

The intensity with which they prepare for games in the playoffs is ramped up in comparison to what it looks like in the regular season.

“You watch a lot of film and go over how the other team plays, what their formation is, what their style of play is, so that you’re prepared and you can adjust according to how they play,” Sophomore Ivy Pope stated.

Attention to detail is super important because of how high the stakes are in the playoffs.

Everybody on the field and in the stands knows the stakes, and they are here for it.

The girl’s volleyball team on Thursday night won the district championship against Big Walnut in four sets. The team went 16-8 this season and hopes to continue the success to the state playoffs.

“The accomplishment that comes with [winning a playoff game] is incredible, and it’s so nice to see that everything we’ve worked our whole season toward has finally come together, and we can appreciate everything we’ve worked so hard for the entire season,” Junior Dylann Schultheis told us.

The hard work that they have put in this season may seem that it has no gain, but the success that they are finding now is making it all worth it.

Being in the playoffs also adds another stress factor, but stress that is worth it.

“It’s a bit more stressful, but when you win those high-pressure games, it feels like such an accomplishment, too,” Schultheis said.

As a fan, the playoff atmosphere is unmatched; the energy and stakes in every game and every minute cannot be beaten.

The game is not over until the final whistle blows or the buzzer goes off–you are never truly out of it.

To all of our wolves who are still in the playoffs, good luck in your next round, and enjoy every moment in it!