“You can feel the energy when you walk into the school, when you walk into practice,” Wood said. “It just feels different. You can just feel it in the air. You can feel the city behind you. You can feel that energy.”
The fifth-ranked Wildcats (12-1) will play ninth-ranked Cincinnati Elder (11-2) in the Division I state semifinals at 7 p.m. Friday at Piqua Alexander Stadium. Springfield will be making its first state semifinal appearance in school history.
»PHOTOS: 2019 Springfield Wildcats season
“I’m happy for the school, I’m happy for these kids and I’m happy for the community,” said Wildcats coach Maurice Douglass, who is in his sixth season at Springfield. “It’s an opportunity for us to let people see Springfield from a positive light. When I first got here, people were talking about how bad it was and all these negative things. It has its moments, but this is a shining moment.”
In the other semifinal, D-I state poll champion Mentor (13-0) will play third-ranked Pickerington Central (12-1) at Canton GlenOak Bob Commings Field.
The winners of the two semifinals will advance to the Ohio High School Athletic Association state football championships being held Dec. 5 through 7 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton. The dates and times of the seven state championship games will be announced Sunday.
Last week, the Wildcats beat Dublin Coffman 7-3 to win the first regional championship in program history. The team got a huge boost from the Springfield crowd, said senior defensive tackle Robert Holtz.
“It was a great game,” he said. “The intensity around the whole field with the crowd, that was a big part of the win. We feed off the crowd. Once we hear the crowd, we got pumped. We get ready and we just want to finish the job.”
»RELATED: State semifinal schedule
The Wildcats are one win away from making history again. Only two Clark County football teams have ever advanced to the state finals — Catholic Central (1991) and Shawnee (2011).
Springfield High School claimed state championships in 1933 and 1952— when several different media outlets chose state champions based on polls — before the state playoffs began in 1972. By that time, the school had split into North and South High Schools.
Four of the Wildcats assistant coaches – Chris Wallace, Kawambee Gaines, Conley Smoot and Michael Berry – all played at South in the 90s and 00s. Berry was a member of the regional final team that lost to Findlay 31-28 in 2002.
The community talked for years about how strong the program would be if the schools ever combined. It finally happened in 2008.
11 seasons later, Springfield is proving it can compete amongst the best in the state year-in and year-out.
“They talked about it for years and it’s finally come together,” said Smoot, the team’s defensive coordinator. “It’s awesome. Being an alumni and being able to coach and help the kids see it, it’s an awesome thing.”
»PHOTOS: Springfield beats Dublin Coffman to win regional title
Springfield enters the game on a 11-game winning streak. The Wildcats haven’t lost since falling to Fairfield 16-12 on Sept. 6.
They’ll also practice on Thanksgiving for the first time ever. The Wildcats have plenty to be thankful for this season, Douglass said, especially with the support they’ve received from both the Springfield and Clark County communities.
“It will be a beautiful day,” Douglass said. “It will be a special day. They’ll get to go home and share this moment with their families and have something truly extra to be thankful for. The fact that we’re still alive at this time of the season is a special thing.”
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