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HILLMAN -- At the beginning of each football season, from the first practice, the Hillman Tigers enter with the goal of making the playoffs.
That goal has been the same for the past 16 seasons.
After a rocky start to the season, Hillman has turned its season around and is on the brink of playoff contention. A win tonight at Pellston would secure Hillman's 16th consecutive trip to the postseason.
Keeping the streak alive hasn't always been easy for the Tigers, but they have always found a way to finish strong.
This year is no exception.
Hillman dropped three of its first four games to open the season and struggled offensively, scoring just six points over the first two games of the year.
A blowout victory over rival Atlanta got the Tigers heading in the right direction. Despite a loss to undefeated Au Gres, Hillman's performance in that game gave Hillman coach Cody Allen hope that his team was poised to finish the year strong.
Fast forward and five weeks later, the Tigers enter tonight's regular season finale winners of four straight, having clinched a winning season for the 15th full season in a row and have averaged over 30 points a game.
"I think early on we struggled a little mainly because of our inexperience. The kids have really put in extra time and stepped up in order to get better and we have," Allen said. "Our offensive line has been the biggest turnaround. The three linemen, along with our tight ends have turned it around and figured out who needs to be blocked and I credit our offensive line play as the reason for our turnaround, and of course we have our skill position players who have also stepped up."
Once again, nothing will come easy for the Tigers as they travel to take on Pellston (7-1) who has enjoyed a successful three-year stretch winning seven games or more each of the past three seasons.
Allen knows the challenge that lies ahead for his team, but expects it to be a physical game between two good teams and the Tigers are treating tonight like a playoff game.
"I told the kids at the beginning of the week that this is when the playoffs start for us. We can't leave it up to who's going to win, we have to take care of our own business this week," Allen said.
Despite their impressive 7-1 record and having scored 100 more points than Hillman this season, the Hornets narrowly escaped an upset against a two-win Onaway team last week, edging the Cardinals 50-44.
Hillman blew out Onaway 56-14 three weeks ago and just one of Pellston's seven wins on the year came against an opponent with a winning record, making tonight's game a winnable one for the Tigers.
A win tonight assures the Tigers that they will hit the road next week for a playoff game. Hillman wants to avoid the pressure of sweating it out, waiting to hopefully hear its name called on the playoff selection show on Sunday. The Tigers are eyeing a win tonight and continuing their coveted playoff streak.
"We're feeling good and looking forward to the opportunity to extend our playoff streak. At the beginning of the year, we weren't sure where we would be right now, but we've dug deep and battled to give ourselves an opportunity to make the playoffs," Allen said. "It's always our first goal of the season and getting in for the 16th year in a row would be pretty remarkable. The opportunity to make that happen Friday night is huge."