FAIRHOPE — Cooper Kurth remembers envisioning himself catching a game-winning touchdown when he and his family traveled across Mobile Bay for treatments in his battle against Leukemia from kindergarten until third grade.

After he turned that dream into reality in Week 2 against John Carroll, a historic playoff run in his senior season with the St. Michael Cardinals has been the cherry on top.

“Football is a blessing to me because it was such a grind to get back from my treatment,” Kurth said after St. Michael’s first-ever playoff win over Handley on Nov. 7. “It was rough but I always wanted to play football. … I remember praying, ‘God, let me do something to fulfill those dreams,’ and then (the John Carroll game) happened. It’s just been such a great season from then on.”

Kurth helped St. Michael set a program record for the best regular season at 9-1 overall and log the team’s highest state ranking in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s poll at No. 5. The Cardinals went on to register the program’s first two playoff wins in its seventh varsity season, the most recent of which secured the first-ever state quarterfinal berth this weekend against Fairfield.

“I wasn’t even sure I’d play football in high school and now I’m looking like (Handley) could have been my last game, but we just dominated and we’re still playing,” Kurth said.

More history made on their turf

When St. Michael initially extended its postseason with a 63-40 win over Handley in the first round, Kurth wasn’t the only one excited to do it in the new on-campus stadium’s debut season.

“The environment was just incredible and to have a sense of home, we’ve never had that,” Kurth said. “To have a place that’s ours and to have people come here — a team that beat us by 30 points last year — and say, ‘Y’all come to our house now and y’all aren’t going to like that bus ride back.’ It’s awesome.”

Fellow senior Ollie Deese, a defensive back who helped the Cardinals allow the second-fewest points to region opponents in program history, struggled to verbalize how much it meant to host a playoff game only four years removed from a two-win season.

“It’s so special to do it at home, first year playing out here and it’s just so crazy. I can’t even think about it,” Deese said after beating Handley. “It’s so big to have that home-field advantage.”

And it’s only the beginning

St. Michael sophomore quarterback Gunner Rivers and junior running back Noah Moss, who combined to score nine total touchdowns and help set a program record for 63 points in a single game, both mentioned how they want to use this year’s playoff experience as building blocks.

“It means a lot, we’ve got to start somewhere and we did it tonight,” Gunner said on Nov. 7. “It felt really good and the team really enjoyed it.”

“It helps us lay the foundation for a winning program to continue to win and win until we get a state championship,” Moss said after the first-round win.

Cardinal head football coach Philip Rivers said he had already learned how important it was for the St. Michael community to have a true home stadium. However, he felt especially grateful to deliver a home playoff win in the team’s first try.

“Great for the community, there’s so many people involved in a football program having some success,” Philip said on Nov. 7. “It’s not just the coaches and players, you figure out being at home in this place how many people it takes to make it go.”

Initial reactions to program’s first playoff win

When the clock finally hit 0:00, the Cardinal representatives reported different initial reactions.

“I think I looked at Philip and I just said, ‘We did it.’ It’s just been one of those deals where week after week we just kept battling,” defensive coordinator Simon Cortopassi said after the game. “We’re just getting a little bit better each week and I don’t think we’ve played our best football yet. I hope we continue to grow as a team and just keep getting better each week.”

“I was just so tired, they’re equivalent to UMS-Wright in their area,” Deese said. “They just play hardnosed football. They hit you every play. Reactions will come later, right now I know everyone on defense is just exhausted because they will just hit you.”

“I was really tired but it felt great to win and now we get to go play another game,” Moss said. “We had so much fun that game and now we get another one.”

Money quotes

“All I could think about on the way to my cancer treatments in Mobile was scoring the game-winning touchdown just like against John Carroll,” Kurth said. “Football is just such a blessing for me.”

“This win gives us some of that momentum going into the next game that we can compete with anybody,” Moss said. “We can put up points on anybody.”

“It’s to the point in the year where it’s win or go home but you can get hot and can get on a run,” Cortopassi said. “It’s been an unbelievable season and we’re hoping that we’ve got a few more weeks left.”

“Those things just build, it takes time to build,” Philip said. “We’ve never celebrated a playoff win, no one knows how.”