Nimbly dodging a wave of players speeding toward a jubilant sideline, Don Farley bellowed a simple message West Point had been waiting to hear for a long, long time.

“Go and enjoy it.”

It’s unlikely the coach’s advice was heard by many Warriors over an ear-splitting homecoming celebration, but they heeded it anyway, soaking in every second of Friday’s 21-14 overtime victory over Lawrence County that clinched the program’s first playoff berth since 2008.

Kobe Smith sprinted in from 7 yards out on the second play of the extra period, and the West Point defense stood strong on consecutive plays from the 3-yard line to cap off the clincher for Class 5A, Region 8’s fourth and final postseason spot. The Warriors, who cracked the 5A playoff picture for the first time in school history, improved to 6-3 (4-3), while the Red Devils were left on the outside looking in after falling to 5-4 (3-4).

“I just have the greatest team,” Smith said in between hugs and playful requests for his autograph. “I saw the left edge, Trent Campbell had a great kickout block and I just rode it in. I’m so, so happy.”

West Point’s first half was one to remember and the second was anything but, yet overtime made it all a distant memory.

Fourth-year starting quarterback Bryant Farley was almost at a loss for words in the immediate aftermath. Then he found a few to sum up his excitement.

“All the support we got tonight from everybody, from the sidelines to the fans to our coaches,” Farley said. “This feeling is just unexplainable.”

Unsurprisingly, fellow senior Ryder Jones was on the same page as his signal-caller not only during the game — he opened the scoring with a 17-yard touchdown catch midway through the first quarter — but after it.

“I can’t explain it, man. It’s great,” Jones said. “We didn’t play our best, but what matters is we finished. We’re going to the playoffs and we’re so excited.”

Smith extended the Warriors’ lead to 14-0 with a strong second burst on a 3-yard touchdown tote just before halftime. The score stood until the 8:56 mark in the fourth quarter, when Lawrence County finally found the scoreboard with a 3-yard run by Jakob Terry.

The Red Devils waited just a minute and 45 seconds to strike again, pulling even at 14-apiece when Jacob Orr returned a punt 90 yards down the right sideline. Orr put Lawrence County in position to win with another big return later in the quarter — this time a 37-yarder to West Point’s 20 — but the Red Devils went wide right on a 20-yard field goal in the waning seconds to send the contest into overtime.

Levi Laney chased down Orr as the elusive speedster appeared to be on his way to a second score, one of numerous clutch plays made by the Warriors’ swarming defense Friday evening.

Campbell made his presence known with a sack and several tackles for loss. Alex Hernandez came through with 1.5 sacks, and Jones accounted for the other half to go along with a pair of deflections at the line of scrimmage. Blake Yearwood snagged his second interception in as many weeks, and Austin Young, Jacob Perez and Laney were among a large group of guys who had their names called out on a consistent basis.

Tristin Skinner was good on all three of his extra-point attempts and had an exceptionally solid punting display in the first half. The sophomore pinned the Red Devils’ at their own 4 in the first quarter and at their own 2 in the second.

Farley finished 8-of-15 through the air for 155 yards and the touchdown. He also turned 13 carries into a team-high 59 rushing yards.

Smith was close behind with 55 yards and the two scores on the ground, as well as two catches for 32 yards. Jones came up with 42 yards and the touchdown on three receptions, and Will Wrenn pulled down a 40-yarder to give the Warriors’ a field goal try with a second to go in the first half.

West Point will host Priceville next week and then hit the road in the first round to take on No. 3 Parker, which was upset 38-26 by Dora for its first loss.

“We’re in the playoffs, and that’s what we wanted to accomplish,” coach Farley said. “I’m proud of our guys. I’m proud of my coaches. I’m proud of the community’s support. We’re going to enjoy this win.

“It’s a good night.”