For the second Friday in a row Wood River fans will pack the stands for a playoff football game.

They'll show up and support the Eagle players who are having one of the best season's in school history.

"It was pretty electric," Wood River coach Austin Ruskamp said of the atmosphere at last week's 41-30 playoff win over Doniphan-Trumbull . "Our fan turnout was really, pretty good, the best I've seen in a long time."

Wood River advanced to the second round of the Class C-2 playoffs and will host Kearney Catholic who beat Valentine 24-0 in the first round.

"They've got some explosive athletes, their quarterback is really good, they've got a couple of receivers that are really good," Ruskamp said. "They can really stretch the ball down the field."

The win for Wood River was its first playoff win since 1996.

"The support's been through the roof," Ruskamp said. "People last week started losing their minds because it's been so long and then this week it's a little bit more. It's great, presents challenges for the boys, but it's been a good time."

Ruskamp has been with the program for eight season's with this year being his second as head coach. In his first season the Eagles went 1-8 and this season they're 9-1 with the most wins they've had in more than 20 years.

The change comes from the players and a mentality shift that they now have.

"In previous years we were waiting for something to go wrong and then kind of the 'here we go again' factor. And this year even when we get down a score, maybe down two scores, we don't panic," Ruskamp said. "Our guys, they stick to the plan, they keep playing within themselves, keep playing the way that we coach them to play. ... I think they know that as long as they go out and give their best effort and do everything to the best of their ability, I think they know that things will work out well for them."

When watching Wood River play it's clear that the players play for the guy next to them and that it's team football.

"One nice thing about this team and part of the reason we have success is there's no pointing fingers, there's no bickering, there's no fighting," Ruskamp said. "They get along, they show up, they get to work. It's a really fun environment to be around because the boys enjoy it and they have a lot of fun."

It also helps to have good players and that's what the Eagles have.

Running back Beau Rohrich has run for 1,939 yards and 21 touchdowns. His running lanes are opened by a powerful and together offensive line.

"He's a special player. He's got a great line in front of him, a good bunch of guys that just open up holes for him and then he makes one, maybe two, sometimes three or four guys miss," Ruskamp said. "He just presents a challenge because he's a big kid, so if you try to tackle him high, he's going to bench press you off. If you try to tackle him low he's going to throw one of his tree trunk thighs into your face."

It's not just Rohrich leading the way as the offensive line has been a key factor too.

There are also guys that make their impact felt when given the opportunity.

"Ikaiah Edgren, he doesn't get a lot of credit because he's kind of our wing fullback type. He gets some passes here and there. We get him some carries when we go into our big sets, but he helps seal the edge up a lot of the time," Ruskamp said. "Jace Stewart, he's an electric freshman. He's one of those kids that's going to be good once his body catches up a little bit."

If Wood River wins it'll advance to the semifinals and be one game away from playing in a state championship.

To get the win Ruskamp said the team will have to play together.

"We're going to have to take care of the ball. We've got to tackle well, we've got to move the ball in the run game, make passes when we need to. We don't throw the ball a ton, but when we do we've got to be on point and take care of it," Ruskamp said. "Defensively we gotta make them drive the field, not allow them to score on one play. If we do that, then we set ourselves up for success."

Wood River 35, Kearney Catholic 31

Area Playoff Games

Class C1

No. 5 Central City at No. 4 Columbus Lakeview, 7 p.m.: Central City is coming off a 49-14 win over Fort Calhoun in the first round of the playoffs. Columbus Lakeview beat Scotus Central Catholic 14-7 to advance. Parker Zikmund threw for 288 yards and five touchdowns in the win. Columbus Lakeview is undefeated on the season.

Class D2

No. 5 Wynot at No. 4 Central Valley, 6 p.m.: Central Valley continued its dominant play with a 72-26 win over St. Mary's in the second round of the playoffs. Wynot beat Hitchcock County 22-14 to advance.

No. 6 Riverside at No. 3 Sandhills/Thedford, 5 p.m.: To make the third round of the playoffs Riverside beat Creighton 84-46. Sandhills/Thedford beat Axtell 76-26 to advance.

Central City at Columbus Lakeview

Wynot at Central Valley

at Sandhills/Thedford

Kearney Catholic at Wood River

Ben Schultz is a sports writer at The Independent. Last week, Schultz went 7-1 and is now 145-45 (.763) on the season.