Caden Thompson and Matthew Cress were in diapers the last time Woodstock had a chance to celebrate a moment like Friday.

Now they are the cogs to the biggest moment of their four-year careers.

Woodstock reached five wins to move closer to the playoffs with a 42-26 win over Sandwich in Woodstock. The win upped Woodstock’s record to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the KRC – and was a symbol of what the seniors have been trying to build.

Woodstock last appeared in the postseason in 2009. Five wins makes the Streaks playoff likely.

“There’s nothing like this,” said Thompson, the senior quarterback who was 16-of-21 passing for 176 yards and four touchdowns, including a perfect 9 of 9 in the second half with three scores.

“This is four years of sweat, blood, and tears to get to this point. It’s this group. Everyone has been building this for four years, and everyone believes. Everyone believes that we could do this.”

That very sentiment was evident after a critical and impressive second-half turnaround.

Sandwich, which was playing for its playoff lives (2-5, 2-3), had complete control at halftime. The Indians possessed the ball for more than 17 minutes in the first half. Behind Nick Michalek, who finished with 181 yards and two touchdowns, and Jeffrey Ashley (97 yards rushing), Sandwich had 181 yards rushing in the half and a 14-7 lead.

But from the opening possession of the second half, Woodstock showed it was a different team, scoring three touchdowns in a matter 7 minutes, 32 seconds to take a 28-20 lead. Thompson had touchdown passes of 12 yards to Cress and 30 yards to Cash White (two TDs), while running back Logan Wisner broke a 49-yard scoring run. That last score was just seconds after Sandwich’s Michalek scored on a 63-yarder.

Answering Sandwich’s big plays was a huge story in the second half. Later, Sandwich pulled within 28-26 on a 1-yard touchdown run from quarterback Cash White before Cress answered with the biggest play of the game. He broke an 82-yard kickoff return that upped the advantage to two possessions at 35-26 with 10:54 to play.

“I saw the outside opened up, and I took it for a couple of yards after I made the edge and I knew there were going to be people coming from the middle,” said Cress, who had three touchdowns in total and 64 yards receiving on four receptions. “I saw them and threw them off and took off for the other pylon. But I have to thank my blockers on that. They gave me a whole lane to do what I needed to do.

“Coming in (down 14-7) with all the momentum in Sandwich’s favor going into halftime, and we just came out and played our (butts) off. I’m just so proud of everyone.”

On the other sideline, it was a bitter pill to swallow for a beat-up Sandwich team that played so well in the first half but struggled to slow down a Blue Streaks offense that found another gear.

“We came out and did what what we wanted to do, but in the second half, it basically came down to momentum,” coach Jason VanPelt said. “They had a few big plays on us, and we just didn’t play well enough to win, and they did. That’s kind of the way that went.”

The victory Gatorade bath felt great for Woodstock coach Mike Brasile, who was an assistant back in 2009.

“We talked about it all week that each year we would get a few wins ... and we would always lose to the playoff teams,” Brasile said. “I was telling the kids, Sandwich was a playoff team last year. If you want to make the playoffs, you have to beat a playoff team.

“And that was our message all week. We knew we had to take it from them because they were playing for their playoff lives tonight, too. They gave us everything they got ... and we were able to keep them out of the end zone at least a couple of times.”