The magic number to clinch a postseason spot in football is almost always five. Get to five wins, and it’s a safe bet the playoffs are around the corner.

On occasion, though, a team with four wins manages to get in. It’s very rare, but at this point in the season, it’s the only hope teams with five losses have to hold onto.

It was the dimmest of hopes that Plainfield South had entering Joliet Central’s home finale Friday night, and it’s the hope the Cougars hold onto following a great showing.

Plainfield South was dominant on both sides of the ball throughout the night. The Cougar defense held the Steelmen to 105 yards, 52 of which came on the final drive of the game. The offense was just as excellent as they knocked a 49-0 victory.

That gives Plainfield South three victories on the year and keeps the postseason dream alive for one more week.

“We have a young team,” coach Jake Brosman said. “Coming out early in the year we had our struggles we had to learn from. Seeing these guys learning from those struggles and building on each other is great. We’ve had great growth as a program and we’re really hitting our stride right now.”

It was a banner night for quarterback Armani Ford. The freshman was sensational as he finished the night 19-of-21 passing for 250 yards and three touchdowns while running for a fourth.

In a sign of maturity and a desire for greatness, the young signal caller was more focused on the plays he didn’t make than the ones he did.

“I could’ve really did more,” Ford said. “I threw a pick and that’s on me. I should’ve had more (big plays) for sure, but it was a good team win. My line helped me out.”

It was also a terrific night for the Cougar defense. They held the Steelmen to just 29 yards in the opening half while surrendering just 2 first downs.

It was the opposite kind of night for Joliet Central (1-8). The Steelmen had more penalty yards than offensive yards. Khobie Fowler (interception) and Amurabi Salazar (fumble recovery) made a pair of big plays defensively.

“We’re really banged up on both sides of the ball,” coach Tom Hart said. “We should be back close to full strength next week as possible. We have to get back down to basics and fundamentals. I thought we executed that well, but we didn’t bring anything extra or boom which Plainfield South did.”

The Cougar offense was impressive from the start as they methodically moved down the field on their opening possession. That drive ended in a three-yard TD run by Kamrin Childress.

After a three-and-out by Joliet Central, the Cougars cruised down the field again, culminating with a one-yard TD push by Ford to make it a 14-0 game.

The first play of the second quarter was a Plainfield South touchdown, this one courtesy of air mail from Ford to Logan Weiss. The package traveled four yards to extend the advantage to three touchdowns.

Ford added a second touchdown pass midway through the second, a 10-yarder to Sincere Rodgers, growing the edge to 28-0.

The Cougars got the ball to start the second half and didn’t need long to put it in the end zone. Ford put up his final score of the night on a 30-yard bomb to Austin Vance, who came down with it in the end zone. A one-yard TD plunge by Kodi Garner midway through the third triggered a running clock.

Vincent Elsenbroek added a 10-yard TD run with 2:35 to go to give the game its final score.

Plainfield South will look to earn win number four at home against Romeoville next week, while Joliet Central will play Joliet West on the road. It’ll be the first Friday night game between West and Central since the 1990s.