E.J. Brown scores the final touchdown of the game for Plainfield in a 35-7 win over Carteret at Hub Stine Field in Plainfield on September 16, 2023. (Photo: Marcus Borden)
Saying this is the best three-year run the Plainfied football team has had in 20 years just doesn’t do what has happened in the Queen City enough justice.
It’s not just the best three-year run the Cardinals have had since they won 18 games from 2003 through 2005, but it comes following a brutal stretch of 16 seasons in which Plainfield went 29-116, only twice managing four wins, never more.
That’s where Plainfield has come from.
But now, in Year Three under head coach James Williams, the Cards are 16-15, with a 6-4 mark this year, their first playoff berth since 2007, and a chance to make even more history.
Thursday, when Plainfield takes on Westfield at Hub Stine Field (11 am, coverage from Marcus Borden on Twitter), the Cardinals will have a chance to beat the Blue Devils for the first time since 2011, their only win in the series dating back to 2005, which also was their third straight win in the series at the time, corresponding with a three-year stretch that saw Plainfield go 18-12 and make the playoffs in two of those three seasons.
Williams’ squad went 5-5 his first year, 5-6 last season, and is 6-4 heading into Turkey Day. But that’s one thing he hasn’t checked off the list yet: beating Westfield.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the last time Plainfield beat Westfield was 2005; it was 2011. The below interview was done using the incorrect date.
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with Plainfield head coach James Williams’ about the program’s turnaround, and Thursday’s matchup with the Blue Devils:
Gridiron has Plainfield beating Westfield, 22-21, back in 2011.