Sterling football hasn't had the easiest season.

Their tough schedule saw the Tigers opening against three ranked teams -- Class 2A's No. 3 Resurrection Christian, 2A's No. 1 Eaton and Evergreen, which just dropped out of the 3A rankings last week -- and a top-notch opponent out of Nebraska in Scottsbluff. Their struggles seemed to stop when they faced non-ranked opponents, like Weld Central.

That week, the fifth week of the season, the Tigers took down the Rebels in a 40-26 campaign as senior quarterback Radek McCracken shined with 205 passing yards on 11 completions and a 48% completion rate. Senior Michael Mertz-Valentine served as his primary target of the night with 128 receiving yards as junior Trevor Berg picked up the rest of the slack with the last 77 yards. Nathaniel Whited dominated the run game that night with 152 yards on the ground, a number which McCracken himself followed up with 54 yards.

The Tigers then hit another rough patch when they fell to Platte Valley and had to forfeit their next game to Brush, who is also a ranked team in 2A. Then Sterling really found its edge in the last two weeks of the season.

The Tigers hosted Valley on Oct. 22 and took control from the beginning with 19 points in the first quarter. They just continued to build upon that lead through every frame after until eventually taking down the Vikings with a 43-22 finish. McCracken threw for 94 yards, mainly to Evan Whitman (49 yards) as the quarterback took control of the run game at 132 rushing yards.

Last Friday, during the final game of the season, Sterling ended with an exclamation point when it traveled to Fort Lupton and defeated the Bluedevils 27-12. The Tigers' finished their season with a 3-6 record as they enter the postseason with a win under their belts.