The IHSA football playoffs are far from unfamiliar territory for Clifton Central.

The 2025 season marked the Comets’ 32nd playoff appearance and their 26th in the last 31 seasons, but in their last three postseasons, the first round was as far as they went.

After falling behind in the second quarter Saturday, No. 4 Central (9-1) pulled away with 24 unanswered points to down No. 13 Knoxville 24-6 and start off the Class 1A postseason with a win, its first playoff victory since 2019.

Lineman Brody O’Connor started the afternoon by carrying the team’s flag onto the field. After the game, he took a minute to soak in the sights and sounds of the first playoff win for him and his fellow seniors on their home field.

“Just to win at home, the atmosphere and everything, I’m very emotional about it,” he said. “It’s just great winning in front of the crowd and my family. My biggest supporter, my dad, he’s out here. I just love that he comes and watches and supports me, so this is really big for me.”

For senior quarterback Brady Shule, his first playoff win was not the only milestone he checked off.

His first touchdown pass of the game, a 31-yard score to Blake Chandler that put the Comets up 7-6 in the second quarter, was his 30th of the season. That broke the program’s single-season record held by Trent Faulkner and JR Caspar.

Shule added two more touchdowns in the second half – a 21-yarder to Cash Minard and an 88-yarder to Derek Meier. His final completion, an 8-yarder Andrew Rohlwing, broke a tie between Shule and Jay Lemenager for the single-season passing yards record, giving Shule 2,241 yards.

After his junior year ended with a severe knee injury, Shule said the chance to play like he has this year has meant a lot to him.

“It feels great, especially after my season ended last year short,” he said. “To come back and break the records, it means a lot. I couldn’t have done it without all my good wide receivers and, of course, my line that gives me plenty of time back there.”

Shule was 20 of 31 in the game for 370 yards and those three touchdowns. Meier led the team with six catches for 122 yards ,while Rohlwing had five catches for 89 yards and Minard four for 89 yards.

Chandler had four catches for 64 yards. He also converted his lone extra-point attempt and drilled a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the first half that put the Comets up 10-6.

“I liked the touchdown, more points, but that field goal felt nice,” he said. “I think I could’ve backed up a little more. I think I had some more distance.”

Chandler, a senior, is back on the gridiron for the first time since his freshman season, giving Shule another valuable target while also stabilizing the kicking game.

“What a blessing to have him come back,” head coach Jeff Perzee said. “He’d be even better if he played the last two years, but we’ll take him. ...

“That was a huge field goal and great momentum going into halftime.”

It was the Comets defense that shined in the final two quarters, holding a Knoxville team that scored 55 points in its regular-season finale scoreless.

The Blue Bullets chipped away in the run game with Brydon Walters (19 carries for 117 yards) and Easton Harshbarger (23 carries for 78 yards) and took a brief second-quarter lead on a Harshbarger touchdown, but O’Connor and the Comets defense came through when they needed to.

“We love our smash-mouth football, and we’ll keep it going,” O’Connor said. “We’re looking for the finals.”

The Comets will play Dwight in the second round. The Trojans are coming off a 29-26 win at Rushville-Industry.

While Perzee, in his first season as head coach, and the Comets set their sights on Dwight, the 1994 Central graduate is also taking time to appreciate the win in his playoff coaching debut on the field where he used to play.

“I live for Comet football, I bleed Comet football,” he said. “Just to have an opportunity to come back, it makes me emotional thinking about it. It’s awesome.”

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Football: Clifton Central vs. Knoxville, Class 1A first-round playoff Clifton Central's Blake Chandler runs in a touchdown as fans cheer during the Comets' 24-6 victory over Knoxville in the Class 1A first-round playoff game on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)