Leland had made it a habit to be in the CCS football playoffs in the 1990s when they reached postseason play eight out of 10 years. The Chargers had dedicated themselves to rebuilding and developing a program that could compete at a playoff level and now they found themselves at a place they had come to expect in years past. Leland would face the North Salinas Vikings in round one of the CCS Division II playoffs.

But the Chargers were more than just happy to be back in the playoffs—as Blossom Valley Athletic League Santa Teresa Division champions they believed they could be a title contender. What they did not count on was an unexpected twist of fate that gave the Vikings just enough of an advantage to come away with a 57-33 win.

As the Chargers circled around their coaches on the field in a somber and quiet post-game meeting, it was obvious that they had not expected to see their season end that soon.

The game started out with a lot of promise when senior Mike Day gathered in the opening kick-off at his own 15-yard line, then cut and darted his way up the middle of the field, found a hole and slanted towards the outside and scampered down the sideline 85 yards into the endzone. After the extra point kick by Kyle McDaniel, the Chargers were looking at a 7-0 lead with only 13 seconds gone in the game.

There was a glimpse of what the day would hold when North Salinas returned the favor on the ensuing kick-off, taking it 73 yards down to the Chargers 17-yard line. Five plays later the score was knotted at 7-7.

It was in the next series when fate came knocking at Leland's door. Day, who led rushers in all three divisions of the BVAL in the regular season, had been the spark that got the Chargers' offense fired up and running all season. He took the handoff on the second play and, on one of his patented quick cuts, dashed for 30 yards. He was met hard by a Viking defender and went down, losing control of the ball as it squirted free. North Salinas recovered the fumble, but that was the least of Leland's concerns—Day didn't get up off the turf. He was helped from the field with an injured left tibia and spent the remainder of the game on the sideline in a sweatshirt leaning on crutches—a tough way to end his high school career.

The Chargers seemed determined not to let that unfortunate development get in the way of their hopes. The defense dug in and forced the Vikings to settle for a 36-yard field goal.

Junior Kirk Andre stepped in to fill Day's slot at running back, and Leland came charging back with an eight-play, 78-yard drive. It was a combined effort of the passing of quarterback Joe Hurley and the running of Andre. Hurley tossed a 14-yarder to Sean Connors and hit Arthur King, Jr. for 24 more on two key plays to keep the drive moving. The Chargers scored when Andre blasted over left tackle and flashed 30 yards untouched across the goalline. McDaniel was once again accurate on the PAT and Leland was back on top.

"I was very happy with our team's response when Day went down," said coach Kelly Edwards. "He is the heart and soul of our team. Kirk and the offensive line really picked it up to the next level."

The Chargers didn't lose much offensive production since Andre came through with 258 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries. He was Leland's entire ground game except for the 32 yards on two carries that Day had before he was injured. The offensive line of Alex Gregarick, Tyler Graf, Alex Baumeister, Scott Glicksberg and Gabe Casteneda blasted open holes again and again.

The entire first half proved to be a back and forth scoring contest as neither defense could find the right combination to shut down the opposing offense.

After North Salinas scored two unanswered touchdowns to take a 24-14 lead, Leland fans caught a glimpse of shades of what next year may look like. Andre took the handoff at the NS 46 and blasted through the line in a flurry of pumping arms and legs. As he bore down on the defensive back at the 20, he faked right and in a flash accelerated to the left blowing past the defender untouched down the sideline for a 54-yard score.

On his third and final score of the game right before halftime, Andre showed he has power as well. He pounded off right tackle at the 7 and carried three defenders with him, finally going down at the 6-inch line. He would not be denied when on the next play Andre crunched it in for the score, bringing Leland to within 30-27 at the half.

As the game progressed, North Salinas "made us throw more," said Edwards. Hurley put forth a valiant effort as he connected on 11 of 24 passes for 149 yards and a 5-yard touchdown toss to Darren Gemoll early in the fourth quarter.

Hurley fired five passes to Connors for 61 yards and hit King with five more for 83 yards.

The Leland defensive effort was led by linebackers Gemoll and Alex Bynum, defensive backs Andre and McDaniel and linemen Glicksberg and Gregarick, who teamed up with Blake Thomas for a key sack.

"We had a lot of kids going both ways and at the end that wore us down," said Edwards. "[North Salinas doesn't] have a lot of plays but what they do, they do well."

"They were a little more physical and tougher at the end than we were," added Edwards, "but I can't say enough about our group of seniors. They put Leland football back on the map."

And that is what the Chargers have been working toward achieving for the past three years.