Pikesville's football team is the No. 2 seed in the Class 1A North Region, and it did something Friday night that it had never done before in the school's 30-year-plus history.

It won a playoff game. It beat No. 3 seed New Town, 22-18.

There were similar celebrations elsewhere, including at Fallston and Century high schools, where those football teams also won postseason games for the first time in their schools' histories -- 32 years at Fallston and eight years at Century.

Pikesville's postseason performance will continue Friday, as the Panthers host No. 4 seed Catoctin, which was a surprising 34-0 winner over No. 1 seed Chesapeake-Baltimore, for the 1A North championship.

Pikesville's performance in finally winning a postseason game is wonderful, but it takes on added significance when considering that the Panthers, who were 6-4 in the regular season, weren't on anyone's radar at the start of this year.

The team was 2-8 a year ago and during the offseason officials hired a new coach, Jamie Willis, a 39-year-old who was taking on his first head coaching job.

Willis will tell you he "just got lucky." But the more he talks, the more the suspicion grows that it was more than that.

Coming into a school without much football tradition, Willis came with a plan he had put together during his time as an assistant coach, most recently at Long Reach in Columbia.

"It was to let the kids know how much I care about them," he said. "To let them know that I will stick by them, no matter what happens, on and off the football field. That I will be there for them. No matter what happens, I'll stick.

"My kids know I love them. They know that. And I've told them if they work hard and play hard, they'll reap the rewards, and that's what they're doing now."

But Willis said what makes him even more proud is that his players care about each other beyond football.

"That's more important than anything on the football field," he said. "More important than just winning. I want them to be the best people they can be. I think that's more important than anything, and if that helps them to succeed on the football field and move along in life, that's all I can hope for."

The icing on the cake, however, would be another win Friday, when the Panthers have the opportunity to win their first regional football championship.

-- Sandra McKee