Join us for LIVE VIDEO BROADCAST coverage of the varsity football CIF playoff game vs. Olympian on:  www.kickpass.tv   Pregame coverage starts at 6:50 pm

Heading into a playoff game, a team usually has only one thing in mind: Win. This Thursday, Cathedral plays their inaugural division 1 playoff game. Ever since the inception of the school in 2005, Cathedral has won 8 CIF division III titles in football. This also includes the magical division II state title run in 2008 lead by now Stanford tailback Tyler Gaffney. Cathedral has a history of postseason success, but this year’s team has certainly been presented with a daunting task.

“We’re preparing for it business as usual; it’s pretty standard whether you’re playing a Vista Murrieta or any school,” said defensive coordinator Mr. John Montali. “We try and stress, from a long time ago, that we want to play our best [football] now – playing our best back then doesn’t help us in the playoffs. To peak now is good.”

Cathedral is preparing to face Olympian, a familiar foe from 3 years ago. Cathedral dominated the Eagles 41-0* at Qualcomm Stadium for a division III CIF title in 2010. This year, the circumstances are much different. Cathedral and Olympian have both moved up to division I (due to the restructuring of the division system, which is based on team’s skill rather than school size) and have played more competitive teams this year than previous years. Olympian is fresh off a playoff win over Mira Mesa 35-18 and has a 4-2 record on the road this year.

The Dons lineup has changed a lot since the start of the season as well. Going into the final stretch, many key players are sidelined by injuries. Among them is Junior Ray Smith. Smith has been a breakout player this year on defense, posting 5.5 sacks over the course of 7 games. Another key injury is offensive tackle Jackson McCullough who is now done for the season.

Cathedral’s run-first offense relies heavily on good blockers upfront, and being without a starter in the final stretch can put a dampener on the offense’s capability to move the ball effectively. Mr. Montali noted that due to these types of injuries, as coaches they have started their “patch work”, getting players to play both ways now. One key player now having to play both offense and defense is Kyle Davis. Davis has been a star defensive end, and is now practicing at offensive line positions to help fill vacancies.

Cathedral plays Olympian at Manchester Stadium this Thursday at 7 o’clock. Follow @ElCidSports during the game for live updates.