Scotland High’s football team didn’t go undefeated in 2019. The Fighting Scots also fell short of a Sandhills Athletic Conference championship. And while we are at it, we will add to the list that they fell short of a victory against rival Richmond County. Far short.

Those things are on the negative side of this list.

Forget ‘em. Toss ‘em aside. Water under the bridge. Time to move on.

It won’t do any good — as a player, coach or fan — to hang heads. There’s still work to accomplish, effort to be given and cheering to do. It’s time to focus on “The Second Season.”

On Friday, the Fighting Scots will host the start of the state’s Class 4-A playoffs — this time in a much different position than they were just one season ago. Don’t forget that the 2018 playoffs had a bit of a question mark on whether Scotland would even make the playoffs, much less gave them a Hail Mary pass of a chance to advance past the first week.

But advance they did.

We should all remember a Fighting Scots team that entered those playoffs with a 5-5 record, a number of key players still injured, a sophomore duo of quarterbacks leading the way and the prospect of being on the road every game. Few outside Scotland County gave the home team much hope.

Still, those Fighting Scots found their rhythm and went to the state championship, losing by a touchdown.

It was, perhaps, the very best effort by players and very best job by coaches Scotland High has ever had.

So entering this season’s playoffs with a 9-2 record and No. 6 seed is a far cry from one year ago. Injuries are much less of a factor, the quarterback position is now run by an athletic senior and, most important, the Fighting Scots are probably one of the top two or three teams in the 4-A classification state wide.

That hardly means the road to the state championship won’t offer its share of bumps and challenges. There are teams out there who would like nothing more than to put a feather in their caps by knocking Scotland off.

So we know it’s time to regenerate the effort and commitment by coaches and players, focusing on nothing less than that elusive title — and we feel sure coach Richard Bailey and his staff have been saying all the right things and pushing all the right buttons to get their players’ attention this week.

The regular season is over. Any milestones set before the season that included regular-season goals are in the rear-view mirror. But the biggest milestone of the season — a state championship — is still out there. And it’s attainable by a Fighting Scots team we all know can get there.

By the way, how sweet would it be for two Sandhills Athletic Conference teams to win state championships? It’s a very good possibility.

But the first step comes Friday. We hope fans will turn out and help motivate the Fighting Scots to a victory over South Central High.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Don’t aspire to be the best on the team. Aspire to be the best FOR the team.” (Unknown)