Isaac Anderson (30) and Tony Galbraith (28) line up in the backfield last season during a Tabernacle Christian home game in Moncrief Park. 

Keith Dabbs quietly snuck around the huddle until he found an opening, which he squeezed through like a fan pushing through the crowd at Coachella. He was surprised and excited and eager to celebrate with his eight-man football team.

Following a 74-40 win over East Memorial Christian on Friday night, Dabbs looked at his Tabernacle Torches and told them not to be satisfied. The win guarantees home-field advantage next week in the first round of the Christian Football Association playoffs—something Dabbs never expected this team to achieve.

“Who would’ve thought going into the year we were going to host a playoff game? It’s a big deal,” said Dabbs on the field in Moncrief Park. “Man, we get to host a playoff game—never, never saw that coming!”

Many of his preseason concerns revolved around the severe lack of depth to be found on a 16-man roster. How could that possibly hold up through the regular season? How could that possibly be worthy of postseason accolades?

“I’ve coached a long time and usually on paper my expectations have been pretty close. This group has overachieved,” said Dabbs.

But nothing is over. Tabernacle (5-3, 3-2) opens the playoffs next Friday with a return trip from East Memorial (5-4, 3-2).

The first part of this doubleheader went to the Torches thanks to an offense which was rarely stopped, especially in the second half. The Torches scored touchdowns with each of their six second-half possessions and finished the night with 518 yards of offense.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Peters had a big night through the air, going 9 of 15 for 224 yards and five total touchdowns (two passing and three rushing). He had a lot of help on the ground. Junior running back Tony Galbraith carried it 26 times for 155 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught four passes for another 85 yards.

After Josiah Davis went down with an injury, junior Tony Pedraza filled in for eight carries, which turned in to 106 yards and a score. His 44-yard touchdown gave Tabernacle a 52-28 lead late in the third quarter.

Dabbs also pointed to a few key stops on defense: “I told them, ‘If we’ll go score some points and make a couple stops, we’ve got a chance to go win.’”

Senior Isaac Anderson came up with three stops of his own, pulling down three interceptions, including a 35-yard pick-6 early on. He cradled a mistake by East Memorial quarterback Lamar Smith, and ran untouched to the end zone for a 14-6 lead.

That lead quickly grew by 6 when Peters tossed his first touchdown of the game to Davis on a 6-yard dump into the flats.

Tabernacle would take a 28-20 advantage into the half, and finish each of its six second-half possessions with touchdowns.

“Our game plan tonight was spot on,” said Dabbs.

How much that plan changes next week in the rematch remains to be seen.