Moral victories might not get you to the next level of your playoff bracket, but as coach Wade Winkers and his River Ridge Timberwolves found out last Friday night, there are a few unexpected benefits that come from even a hard fought loss.

Though No. 8 seed River Ridge (4-6) lost to No. 1 seed Black Hawk/Warren (10-0) by a score of 8-6 in last Friday night’s division 7 level-one playoff game, coach Winkers found out just what his team is made of, while also gaining the respect of his coaching peers.

After just squeaking into the playoffs with a Six Rivers conference record of 3-4 and overall mark of 4-5, the Timberwolves knew the challenge ahead of them when pitted against the No. 1 seed and undefeated Warriors.

Even without their top player in quarterback/linebacker Brandon Davis, who suffered a season-ending injury two weeks earlier, River Ridge gave Black Hawk/Warren all they could handle last Friday night.

“I am really proud of our guy’s effort. I am sure there were very few people outside of our team that thought we had a chance to play with them,” Winkers said.

“Think of all the things against us: a one seed against an eight seed; they’re the No. 2 ranked team in the state; our most explosive player and quarterback was out. These guys made zero excuses this week in preparation or play and showed that on Friday night,” Winkers added.

After taking the Warriors to overtime in their regular-season contest on Sept. 5, and now playing to an 8-6 final in playoff action, Black Hawk/Warren head coach Desmond Breadon expressed his respect to coach Winkers and his team after Friday night’s contest.

“We didn’t play our cleanest game, but Ridge definitely came to play,” said coach Breadon. “They gave us everything we could handle, which we kept saying all week.”

“I was talking to the referee on our sideline and I said you can’t tell me they’re a number eight seed, and he said he’s been reffing for 25 year and they’re the best eight seed he’s ever seen,” Breadon added.

While all four quarters were filled with hard-hitting, intense football action, all the scoring came in the final seconds of the opening quarter.

River Ridge let it be known early in the contest that they weren’t about to back down to the conference champions, as they embarked on a time-consuming opening drive that ended deep in Warrior territory.

Faced with a fourth-and-goal from the Black Hawk/Warren two-yard line, quarterback Reese Drew was stopped short of the goal line on a quarterback keeper following a nine-minute drive.

The Warriors took over at their own one-yard line with 3:01 showing on the clock, and on their fifth play, quarterback Beau Podnar found daylight on a keeper to the left side and raced 87 yards for his team’s first and only score of the contest. Not knowing it at the time, but the two-point conversion run by Jacob Woodruff would be the deciding factor in an 8-6 victory.

Down, but certainly not deflated, the Timberwolves had a quick answer on the ensuing kick off, when sophomore speedster Lane Copsey muffed the return, but quickly gathered the ball off the turf and raced 80 yards to the end zone. Unfortunately for River Ridge, the two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, leaving the score 8-6 with two seconds to play in the opening quarter.

Throughout the remaining three quarters of play, neither team was able to add to their total, as the Warriors held on to advance, and River Ridge concluded their season.

“It was a great football game. It was a physical battle between two solid teams as expected when Six Rivers teams play,” Winkers said. “Congrats to Black Hawk/Warren on making a few more plays than us on the night.”

While the Warriors concluded the contest with 262 yards of total offense, 233 of which came on the ground, River Ridge finished their night with 107 total yards, 88 coming on the ground and 19 through the air.

Drew led the Timberwolves with 34 yards rushing on 13 attempts, while also completing 5-of-11 passing attempts for 19 yards. His top target was senior Brock Bunge, who had three receptions for 15 yards, while junior Noah Copsey had two catches for four yards.

Junior fullback Braden Skaife rushed for 32 yards on nine carries, while Bunge added 14 rushing yards on three carries.

Leading the defense for River Ridge was Blake Reynolds with 11 tackles, followed by Preston Gage with eight and Noah Copsey and Cody Mezera with six each.

In a season where each of his team’s six losses were by nine points or less, coach Winkers is proud of his players and how they performed throughout the season, especially his seniors, who dedicated so much time and effort to making the program what it is today.

“I am extremely grateful to get to coach this program and very thankful for the opportunity to coach our seniors,” Winkers said. “We are going to miss them for sure.”