For the second week and season in a row, the Pleasantville football team has a must win game against Cardinal, if they want to secure a spot in the Class 1A playoffs that start next week.

Last season, the Trojans had to defeat Cardinal to force a three-way tie for the last playoff spot in District 6. Pleasantville pulled off a big 29-28 win that night and made it into the postseason based on their point differential. Tonight, the 3-4 Trojans can lock up that final playoff spot in the district with a win over the 0-7 Comets, and a Van Buren loss at versus Sigourney Keota. While Cardinal is winless in 2022, Pleasantville head coach Mack Jorth knows his squad must remain focused on the task at hand.

“Doesn’t matter anything about who we’re playing or what kind of records they have, we have a job to do and that’s to go out to be the best we can be Friday night. We’re playing for a playoff spot, we’re playing to make this a great end of the season. Everything we need to do is in front of us, no matter who we’re playing. And we just gotta stay focused on those proper things and execute at a high level, being our best and preparing for hopefully things that could come if things go right away. So that’s where you got to keep your focus and I think our guys have done a good job of that and we’ll continue to do so.”

Kickoff for Pleasantville’s must-win game at Cardinal tonight is set for 7 p.m.