Prep Football: For All The Marbles
The long slow climb to the top is something that Brandon Hampton hasn't taken for granted.
The Eldorado head coach, in his eighth season, remembers vividly life at the bottom of the Black Diamond Conference.
Eventually, the tides turned and for the past few seasons, Hampton and company have churned out one of the best teams in the conference, but with no BDC championship to show for it.
That can all change Friday night when Eldorado plays host to Chester in a winner-take-all for the Black Diamond Conference title.
Chester's only blemish is a 30-21 loss last week to Virden North Mac in non-conference action. Both Chester (7-1) and Eldorado (8-0) are perfect in BDC play as each are 7-0 going into Friday night's tilt.
The thrilling come-from-behind win last week at Johnston City, where Eldorado rallied to win 28-26 gave the Eagles their eighth straight victory and surpassed the mark of 7-1 start set by the 2012 team.
And because of that win at Johnston City, Hampton said his Eagles go into the regular season finale with a load of confidence.
"Our kids right now are really confident in what we are doing and I feel like we are getting better each and every week, which is important this time of the season," Hampton said. "I feel fortunate to be healthy heading into Week 9 and I know that Chester is a very good football team with a lot of dynamic weapons.
"Our kids are excited," Hampton continued. "You know it's a real credit to them because three or four years ago, we don't win that ballgame (at Johnston City). We've lost that exact same game where we have the momentum, someone takes it away from us and we're not mentally tough enough to wrestle it back from them. I was really proud of the winning football our kids played and how resilient that they were. We've been a strong second half, fourth quarter team all year."
Hampton added that he wants his team to come out and respond the way they should after a big win and that starts with a good week practice and coming out with a lot of momentum Friday night.
Chester - the preseason pick to win BDC - despite losing head coach Brian Lee to Carbondale has been a constant Top 10 pick in the Associated Press Top 10 2A Prep Football Poll this season, and like Eldorado, has been dominant against most of its competition.
"Chester has very strong program and they are a big play team," Hampton said. "They have a lot of speed in Demonte Martin and Chris Lane. They are extremely fast and can get on the perimeter and then they have Jordan Burner, who is a Division I-type kid that maybe the Black Diamond hasn't seen since I have been here or maybe farther back.
At 6-foot-6 and 250-pounds, Burner is a speedster who can flat fly.
"The one thing they do a good job of this year is getting him the ball on offense," Hampton said. "In the past, he has been a tight end or receiver and you kind of knew when he was getting the football. Now they get him in the wildcat, he runs around and throws it. They get him in the backfield quite a bit more than in the past. So, that poses a threat to you and they always play great defense. They are very physical up front and historically have played really good defense since they have been in the black diamond conference."
Win or lose, it's a season Hampton won't forget as its a near lock for Eldorado to host a first round playoff game for the first time since 1996, when Eldorado lost to Red Hill. The Eagles haven't won a playoff game since 1988 when EHS knocked off Johnston City 44-0.
"It's the most wins we have had here in quite a while and for sure since I have been here since 2008," Hampton said. "This is the second time we have been able to play for the conference championship and hopefully we can draw from the experience from the last time. I think as the season has rolled along here, one thing for sure is, you can't bet against our kids. The way they respond and the way they play is something really special."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.