GRANVILLE - If this is a dream season, then the Salem Quakers don't want to wake up. The only thing sweeter then playing in your first playoff game is winning your first playoff game. Although it took a last second field goal and overtime, Salem made the most of their first trip to the playoffs, defeating Granville 38-31 in an instant classic.

"These guys never sease to amaze me," Salem coach Mike Kopachy said. "They're making history with every step they take. I'm so proud of them."

The legs of Ben Eisel are usually important for Salem when it comes to long pass plays or punt returns. Tonight they proved to have another value. With the season on the line, Salem was down three and took over at their own 11 yard line with only 1:31 left. Calmly, Trent Toothman marched the team to the Granville 16-yard line, connecting several times with Zach Penick. After three unsuccessful tries for the end zone, Eisel lined up for a 34-yard field goal with 1.2 seconds on the clock. Despite Granville's attempts at icing him by calling timeouts, Eisel knocked the ball through the uprights and sent the game to overtime.

"Nobody ices Ben Eisel," Kopachy said. "That's a situation we practice every day and we say it's for the game. Today it was for the game and he put it right through the middle."

"I'm just doing my job," Eisel said. "If it comes down to me I'll get it done. Coach told me they couldnt ice me so i was believing in him. If I make it we win, if I miss it we lose. It's nerve-wracking, but I got it done."

Salem took control first in the overtime period and used a power rushing game behind Toothman and Eric Bailey. Toothman finally punched it in from 2-yards out for what was to be the winning score. The Quakers held Granville on a fourth and goal from the three to seal the game.

The game was played in two distinct halves. The first half was a track meet, the second half was a slugfest. Granville used the big strike capability they're known for to put up 31 first half points. Salem, not to be outdown, hit their own big plays. Trailing 3-0 on their first possession, it took Salem only two plays, two Trent Toothman runs to score. Toothman ran for 61 yards and then 16 to the end zone on the next play. Although Granville kept racking up the yards and points, Toothman and Salem would always come back with an answer. He would add two long touchdown passes, one to Eisel and one to Penick before halftime, but Salem still found itself down by 10.

"We sat in the locker room, and we had enough of giving up points and giving up yards," Toothman said. "We knew it was going to come to the end, we knew we were going to sell out on defense and give it everything we had to come back and win this game."

Salem got the ball first in the second half and marched 77 yards in 15 plays before Toothman ran in from five yards out to narrow the gap. Then the defense turned the game around. After giving up 14 first downs in the first half, the gave up one in the second. After giving up 289 yards in the first half, they have up only 19 in the second. Most importantly, the gave up no points after halftime.

According to Kopachy the difference was easy.

"We tackled," Kopachy said. "We played Salem football in the second half. We didn't play Salem football in the first half. We were playing like we were playing against a scout team. Defensively we said 'look, we don't want to leave here with regrets. We want to play 24 minutes, all out effort, and let the chips fall where they may.' I said 'if we play defense in the second half we win this game' and we did."

The road continues for Salem and gets tougher at each step. Next in line for Salem stands the Steubenville Big Red, one of the premier programs in all of Ohio, winners of two state championships the last four years.

One thing is for certain heading into that game, the community of Salem will be well behind the Quakers as they were Friday in Granville.

"I'm so proud of our kids, proud of our staff, proud of our school," Kopachy said. "We filled this place tonight. They couldn't hold us. We got people lining up all over the place. The community's proud of them, I'm proud of them. What an effort by these guys. Words cant say enough."