It was not the ideal way to end a season, but Saturday’s Class 1A playoff loss at unbeaten Camp Point Central still served as a tribute to a Dupo High School football squad that hadn’t been there in a while.

The Tigers ended their season at 5-5 with the 66-0 defeat. Dupo qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2012.

“We ran into a great program Saturday. They are well-coached and a very disciplined group of young men,” Dupo’s first-year head coach Zach Klaustermeier said. “That is something that we are working toward and really every program should attempt to model their own selves after.”

The loss signaled the end of the road for Dupo’s senior players Logan Stevens, Hunter Cataldo, Trey Chadduck, Earl Crank, Andrew Gischer, Chance Hunter, Conner Smitt and Sam Stoeffel, who poured plenty of blood, sweat and tears into the program over the years.

Stevens finished with 1,183 yards rushing and 378 yards receiving behind a solid offensive line affectionately known as “The Hogs.”

Some players who shined this fall and return next season include freshman Deegan Prater and junior Ashton Stein. 

Prater rushed for nearly 700 yards and was a force in the return game. Stein came on late to perform well at quarterback.

“I am proud of our guys for the fight that they showed throughout the season. The ending was not as we wanted, but that is pretty much the case when you make a playoff – unless you win the whole thing,” Klaustermeier assessed. “There weren’t many people that believed that we could be where we ended up.  I have to give all of the credit to our young men for buying into what the coaching staff and I were selling.  We could not have accomplished any of it without every single individual that makes up this program.”