Like half the high school football coaches across the state Friday night, Sequatchie County's Adam Caine called his team together.
He spoke of resiliency. Of toughness. Of commitment.
He also spoke through the not-so-silent sobs of a team whose season just ended.
It was the final Friday night for the Sequatchie County seniors - Red Bank and super-accurate quarterback Madox Wilkey made sure of that in a 21-13 first-round playoff victory - and there were tears and hugs from most of the 37 Indians gathered around their coach.
"I'd do anything to have one more. Anything," Sequatchie quarterback Ethan Barker said afterward with a directness that would make anyone believe it.
Barker ran for a team-best 75 yards, including a 14-yard run from the punting formation to set up the first Indians scoring drive. He also led the team in passing with 35 yards and caught a throwback pass for 12 yards and scored one of two Sequatchie's touchdowns.
But all of his efforts - as well as the Indians' concentrated defensive focus on slowing Zay Brown, the area's leading rusher - were not enough.
Not on this Friday night when sophomore Madox Wilkey was almost perfect.
"I've got to give all the credit to my offensive line," Wilkey said, tugging at his shoulder pads and offering the type of quarterback cliches you'd expect from someone who finished 27-of-30 for 239 yards and two scores in his first TSSAA playoff game. "And my receivers made a lot of plays and fought for extra yards, too. It was a great team effort."
It truly was. So much so that the Wilkey-led offense - a well-schemed plan that adjusted to the Sequatchie County defense that crowded the line to stop Brown, who came into Friday night with almost 1,700 yards - did not make the biggest play.
No, that distinction belonged to Red Bank defensive end Iva Young, who snuffed out a a running play around the end on a fourth-and-3 try in the final minutes as the Indians were inside the Red Bank 40.
"I'll second-guess that play-call for a while," Caine said of the wing-T version of the jet sweep that was stopped for no gain. "These kids gave me everything they had, and I will always remember them for that."
The Lions, though, forever will remember Friday as the first step toward the ultimate dream.
"If we play like we can," Wilkey said, "we can play with anyone."
The sophomore gunslinger's presence makes that less hyperbole than most may know. Not only did he complete 90 percent of his throws Friday, but his presence behind center allows Calvin Jackson, one of the area's best playmakers, to roam the field and create havoc everywhere.
"That's one of the main reasons we made the change," Red Bank coach Chad Grabowski said. "If we can be a team that can throw it as well as run it, well, that is hard to stop."
Jackson played quarterback last year and lined up as the wildcat quarterback a half dozen times Friday, including his fourth-and-goal TD run from the 1 to open the scoring.
He also hauled in 12 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Wilkey masterfully distributed the ball, as well, finding David Cosby nine times for 109 yards and a score.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com