BRECKENRIDGE HILLS 鈥 Bryan Steiger never enjoyed football practice more than he did on Sept. 13.
The senior offensive linemen was all smiles as Ritenour High鈥檚 football team went through one drill after another.
鈥淵ou have to miss something before you realize how important it is,鈥 Steiger said.
The Huskies went through a nightmarish week in early September that culminated with a 19-6 loss to Fox at home.
Ritenour High was shut down for two days after social media threats were discovered online, a move made out of an abundance of caution, and things went back to normal temporarily on Friday of that week.
Prior to that Friday, the Huskies had gone three days without practicing, an unheard of break in the middle of a season. The first day of the week, a water main break forced cancellation of all extracurricular activities.
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Steiger and his teammates had a deep appreciation not only for practice, but for the return to a normal high school experience.
鈥淚t definitely made us realize that we have precious moments with each other,鈥 Steiger said. 鈥淓ven though you are at school, it鈥檚 still crazy the type of things that can happen.鈥
Added junior wideout and defensive back Troy Jackson, 鈥淚t just brought us together and made us tougher.鈥
A week later, another threat was made and a former Ritenour student was taken into custody.
The Huskies have done their best to put the disconcerting incidents in the past. Galvanized, they have bounced back on the field from a 1-4 start to record back-to-back shutout wins.
Ritenour, which entered the season with high hopes, carries a 3-4 record into a contest Saturday at McCluer North.
Although the team experienced almost a week full of turmoil, everyone inside the program learned life lessons along the way.
鈥淚t just told us that whatever comes our way, we鈥檝e got the roll with,鈥 Ritenour coach Yarmon Kirksey said.
The Huskies have done just that.
They are coming off a pair of near perfect wins over Oakville (38-0 on Oct. 4) and Webster Groves (43-0 last Friday).
鈥淭his is the team I always thought we could be,鈥 Kirksey said.
Kirksey said three days off from practice for the team led to a ho-hum effort in the loss to Fox, which is also 3-4. That game was slated for a Friday night but moved to Saturday morning in part so the Huskies could get some work in practice on Friday to prepare for the contest.
But those days are in the rearview mirror.
This team is focused and playing its best as the regular season winds down.
鈥淲e just finally got locked in,鈥 Steiger said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not too sure what took so long. But it鈥檚 October and that鈥檚 when a team should be playing good football.鈥
Quarterback Anthony Odom threw for 215 yards and two scores in the win over Oakville. Jackson hauled in a pair of passes for 60 yards.
Senior Mike Miller ran for 128 yards in the win over Webster Groves including a 74-yard scoring gallop just over three minutes into the contest.
鈥淚t threw us out of rhythm and we couldn鈥檛 get a whole bunch of work in,鈥 said Jackson, who has eight catches for 173 yards and 3 TDs three on the season. 鈥淪ometimes you鈥檝e got to forget about all that other stuff and just do you job.鈥
The defense has been stellar, allowing just 38 total yards against the Statesmen. Corey Holmes led the way by rambling 48 yards with a fumble return for a touchdown.
The Huskies are playing with plenty of confidence after the off-kilter beginning.
鈥淲e definitely knew we could turn this around,鈥 Steiger said. 鈥淲e should have been playing like this from the beginning.鈥
Warrenton, Orchard Farm set for showdown
Jason Koper says it with pride.
The Warrenton High football coach admits his team is an old-school run-first unit.
鈥淲e鈥檙e run heavy and I鈥檓 not scared to put that out to people,鈥 Koper says. 鈥淲e try and run the ball right from the start. I even tell the officials that before the game.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just what this team is about.鈥
The Warriors will get a chance to display that ground game when it faces Gateway Athletic Conference North Division rival Orchard Farm in a battle of 7-0 teams at 7 p.m. Friday in Warren County.
Warrenton has rushed the ball 369 times this season. Almost 73 percent of its plays from scrimmage are runs.
Orchard Farm has outscored its opponents 260-109 and is off to the best start in school history.
Warrenton, on the other hand, won its first 11 contests last season before losing to Hannibal in postseason play. The Warriors also finished second in the state in Class 4 in 2010.
The key to Warrenton鈥檚 ground attack is senior Austin Haas, who has rushed for 1,358 yards and 19 scores. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder is averaging 9.2 yards per carry and has run for 214 yards or more in each of the last four contests.
鈥淥ur (offensive) line is probably the best we鈥檝e had here since the early 2000s,鈥 Koper said 鈥淎nd the best part is that they enjoy run blocking. They鈥檝e taken on the identity that they like opening big holes.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 their goal 鈥 to keep him clean.鈥
Logan Nichols, Alex Wilson, Jack Morris, Kyle Lauck, Marcus Greene and Chance Klasing stand out in the trenches.
Orchard Farm is led by quarterback Collin Sinclair, who has hit on 90 of 138 passes for 1,316 and 16 scores with just three interceptions.
鈥淲e found out last year that we can score with them,鈥 Orchard Farm coach Chris Lindhoff said. 鈥淏ut as the game goes on, if you don鈥檛 have that ground game that can move the chairs when you need it like they do, you鈥檙e just not going to have success, especially in the second half when they really excel.鈥
The teams are 6-6 in this relatively new rivalry, which began on Oct. 12, 2012. They are both 4-0 in league play.
鈥淭his is great for our conference and it should open some eyes,鈥 Koper said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ready and I鈥檓 sure they will be too.鈥
Bubble time in Illinois
Several teams in Illinois side are facing must-win games this weekend as the chase for a playoff berth intensifies.
Teams that win at least six games or claim a conference title get automatic berths.
Then it gets a little sticky.
Schools that goes 5-4 have a better than 50-50 chance of making postseason play, according to recent history.
That forces teams with 4-3 records, like Highland, Belleville East and Collinsville, into must-win situations. Victories in the last two contests put them in, but a 1-1 mark down the stretch might not get it done.
Collinsville, due to the strength of its opponents, will likely get in with one win.
The Kahoks close the season on the road at Cahokia (6-1) and Triad (6-1). They are one of 10 Class 7A teams that sport a 4-3 record and are ranked third in that group, so one win should make them playoff eligible.
Collinsville has made the playoffs each of the last three seasons and could set a school record with a fourth successive berth.
鈥淲e鈥檙e ready to do this thing and we鈥檙e excited for the challenge,鈥 Collinsville coach Colton Rhodes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e feeling good heading into these last two games.鈥
The Kahoks are coming off a season-best 48 points in win over Marion last week.
There are 155 playoff spots available; 101 teams have already clinched postseason berths.