It hasn’t happened around the Tahlequah football office very much, so no one can blame coach Tuffy Thornton for savoring the moment.

There he was, along with his coaching staff, trying to figure out points and scenarios for the Tigers to qualify for the Class 5A playoffs.

Tahlequah hasn’t even thought about the qualifying for the playoffs since 2001, the last time the Tigers were in the postseason.

“It’s exciting to be talking about the playoffs,” Thornton, in his third season at the school, said. “I know it’s been several years since they’ve had a home game where there’s a lot at stake. But we’ve got a good team coming to town.”

McAlester, like Tahlequah, comes to town with a 3-1 record in District 5A-4. Both are tied for third place going into the 7:30 p.m. game on Friday.

“Being on a team that has chance to make the playoffs, that feels pretty good,” senior wide receiver-linebacker Dusten Knight said.

Knight and other players who have been on the Tahlequah varsity have known nothing but losing and they’re excited about the turn of the events this season.

“It’s a real good situation because we were 2-8 last year,” senior offensive guard-defensive end Jack Howard said. “We’re just on a roll this year. Our coaches talk about team and we’re doing what they’re saying and it’s working for us. I’m really happy this is happening.”

The game also takes on a personal meeting for the Tigers as it will be Senior Night.

“It’s an important game for us and honestly, I think a little bit about us going to the playoffs,” Howard said. “But we’ve got to take it one game at a time. McAlester’s a tough team and I definitely think we can beat them. We just have to play hard.”

Nothing will be decided for certain in Friday’s night clash, but the Tigers and Buffaloes have a few things in common besides their records. Both have beaten the district’s lower tier teams while losing to current district leader Coweta.

They have yet to play the rest of the top half of the league — East Central and Ada. Both are on their schedules after this week, the Tigers go to Ada then East Central.

Starting that stretch on a good note is enough motivation for some players.

“When you have a chance like this, you’ve got to make something out of it. It doesn’t come to you,” senior defensive end Cole Elliott said.

“We’ve seen everybody on film and I think we should be competitive against the teams we have to play. We’re right where we want to be,” Thornton said.

“We’ll find out Friday if we’re for real or not.”