CEDAR BLUFF – The Cedar Bluff Tigers didn’t need any motivation at practice this week. They knew exactly what was at stake, and they knew what they had to do.

A win over Class 1A, Region 6 rival Gaylesville meant the Tigers would host a playoff game in two weeks. A loss would have potentially ended their postseason aspirations.

Behind a 212-total yard, four-touchdown performance by senior quarterback Kyle Crane, the Tigers made sure their ticket was punched to the postseason in a 26-14 victory.

With the win Cedar Bluff (6-3, 5-2) claims the runner-up position in Region 6, meaning the Tigers will host a playoff game. Gaylesville (5-4, 4-3), which qualified for the playoffs last week, earns the fourth spot and will travel in the opening round on Nov. 6.

Both Cedar Bluff and Gaylesville’s opponents are yet to be decided. They will cross with Region 5, but a three-way tie for first place between Appalachian (7-2), Coosa Christian (8-1) and Victory Christian (8-1) means they’ll both have to wait and see those teams’ tiebreaking outcomes when the regular season ends next Friday.

On Friday against Gaylesville, Cedar Bluff coach Jonathan McWhorter said his team was focused on the task at hand, giving a nod to his scout team and assistant coaches for making sure the Tigers were prepared.

“We had to win,” he said. “There was no need for any fire ‘em up speeches. Our kids understand the tradition here. Cedar Bluff makes the playoffs, and that’s just the way it is.

“I’m just really proud of our kids for the effort they gave. We’ve given great effort all year, but we’ve been a little off execution-wise here and there. I thought we definitely played well enough to win. There are always things you can take away from a game that you can get better at, but our kids came to play tonight. I’m just really proud of them for what they did.”

Crane said he didn’t want to leave his team’s fate in the hands of another.

“I’m very relieved,” he said following the win. “I don’t want to have someone else control our destiny. If we didn’t win it, then it would have been in someone else’s hands to determine if we went to the playoffs or not, and that’s never a good sign. It was the same thing two years ago, and could have been the same thing this year, but we just came out on top tonight.”

Before Crane and company went to work, the Trojans got off to a strong start.

On just the second offensive play of the game, junior quarterback Luke Murphy connected with Josh Whitaker on a 46-yard touchdown down the sideline. David Sanford rushed in for the 2-point conversion, putting the Trojans in front 8-0 with 11:16 to go in the first quarter.

Cedar Bluff responded later in the quarter on Crane’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Tyric Scales. Crane’s pass for the 2-point conversion was unsuccessful, keeping the score in favor of Gaylesville, 8-6.

After a Trojan punt, Crane connected with Zach Taylor on a 67-yard strike with 3:10 left in the first quarter. Another Crane pass fell short on the 2-point try, but the Tigers held the lead at 12-8.

Cedar Bluff extended its lead with 11:14 to go in the second quarter on a 2-yard Crane pass to Scales. The duo also connected on the 2-point conversion, giving the Tigers a 20-8 lead at the break.

Gaylesville tightened things up when Paul VanPelt blocked a punt by the Tigers’ Curtis Abernathy. VanPelt scooped up the ball and dashed 42 yards for the touchdown. Sanford was denied on the try for two, but Gaylesville now trailed 20-14 with 8:35 to go in the third quarter.

The Tigers put the game out of reach with 4:58 to go in the fourth quarter. Crane led the Tigers on a 10 play, 45-yard drive in which he scored on a 1-yard run. The try for two was no good.

For the game, Crane completed 15-of-27 passes for 190 yards and three scores in addition to 22 yards on nine carries with a touchdown on the ground. Scales finished with six catches for 65 yards and two scores. Taylor had four receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Reese led the Tiger rushing attack with 41 yards on 13 carries.

Murphy led the Trojans by completing 9-of-24 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. Sanford added 84 yards on 22 carries on the ground.

Gaylesville coach Brian Clowdis said the Trojans just couldn’t come up with enough big plays to match Cedar Bluff.

“Offensively, we never could get any drives sustained,” he said. “That’s a pretty good football team we played. We just didn’t do what we needed to do to win. They just had some guys to make plays, and we didn’t.”

Cedar Bluff travels to Wedowee to face the Randolph County Tigers to end the regular season on Friday. Gaylesville also concludes its regular season on the road at Jefferson Christian.