SPRING LAKE, Mich. — The Spring Lake High School football team is chasing something that has never been accomplished in the town's history: a state championship. After defeating Godwin Heights in the first round of playoffs, the Lakers are off to a promising start, but players and coaches say there's still plenty to prove as they prepare for their second-round matchup against Unity Christian.
Following a challenging 3-6 season last year filled with close losses, Spring Lake head coach Cody Mallory said the team's primary focus during the offseason was learning how to finish games.
WATCH: Spring Lake football team aims for historic state title run after playoff victory
"Just about every single one of those games came down to us not executing very small details at a high level and so that was a point of emphasis going into this offseason," Mallory said.
That added focus has paid dividends for the Lakers, who are now closing out those tight contests. The team finished the regular season with a 6-3 record and secured a 42-35 victory over Godwin Heights in the first round of playoffs.
Senior linebackers and twins Oliver and Owen Smies reflected on the significance of the playoff win.
"To finally get a playoff win it means so much," Owen Smies said.
"We've been playing on the same team since I can remember and winning a big game like that with your brother out there is pretty sweet," Oliver Smies said.
The last time Spring Lake won multiple playoff games in a single postseason was 25 years ago when they advanced all the way to the state final in 2000. Senior quarterback Landon O'Donnell hopes their team can experience similar success as they now focus on Unity Christian.
"It was a great feeling be able to get that win with my brothers, but we also wanted to move on from it because we knew we had a tough Unity team coming up," O'Donnell said. "So we wanted to enjoy it but also move on and refocus to what we really want to accomplish which is a couple championships."
Despite Unity Christian being favored to win Friday's game, players and coaches at Spring Lake say they're comfortable playing the underdog role. Regardless of the outcome, they say they're proud of what they've accomplished this season.
"We've got nothing to lose we can just go out there give it our all and the mantra of just swing away, whatever happens happens," Owen Smies said.
The Lakers will take on Unity Christian in the district final at Grandville High School with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.
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