With nine victories behind them, the Panther football team had only one regular-season opponent left to conquer – its own goalpost.

After soundly defeating the Murray State Racers 37-6 Nov. 17, the Panthers hoisted their first Ohio Valley Conference Championship Trophy at O’Brien Stadium. They dowsed coach Bob Spoo in ceremonial sports drink and briefly reveled in victory before the cameras.

Then, lead by senior safety Corey Lewis and sophomore linebacker Nick Ricks, the Panthers raced toward the south end zone and began their assault on the goalpost.

The support post, anchored by concrete, wouldn’t budge, but before long the uprights were no longer upright. The mighty Panthers turned the uprights horizontal and left them to facing wide right.

It may have been the first time a team has torn down its own uprights.

Spoo was asked if he had ever heard of a team partaking in such an act of celebration.

“No I hadn’t. I was just hoping that nobody would get hurt, but that – that’s fine with me. How often is this going to happen in our lifetime?” Spoo said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

Apparently the attack was premeditated.

“Actually before the season started, Nick Ricks was the one who planned it all. He said ‘I’m getting that goalpost this year,'” said redshirt freshmen Brandon Robinson. “So, he got his goalpost.”

In most instances, the fans storm the field after a big victory and attack the uprights, but with the majority of the campus already home for Thanksgiving, a fan attack was quite improbable. And not to misjudge their enthusiasm, the Charleston area fans, who outnumbered the students in attendance, were probably a bit too demure to consider storming the field.

Maybe, you say, conquering the goalpost and the parties involved is rather unimportant, but the attack was representative of a much larger accomplishment.

The goalpost, the 9-1 record, the OVC championship – they all represent a giant bounding leap for Eastern’s football team. The Panthers have risen from the ashes of a team that went just 2-10 two seasons ago, and was painful to watch. We’re talking root-canal painful.

And continuing with the dentistry metaphor, the players, coaches and fans are so loopy you’d think someone left the laughing gas on.

Don’t take my word for it; heed the words of the normally unexcitable Spoo.

“We answered every challenge and we deserved this championship and we got it. I think it’s just the greatest thing that’s happened for me in my 15 years here,”Spoo said. “I’m so happy for those guys.”

And for all the students who couldn’t ,or just didn’t, stick around for the last regular season game – you should be excited as well. Success in sports is sometimes fleeting, so every student should revel in their school’s triumphs.

And right now there’s not a better time for reveling. This year, five Eastern sports teams have finished in first place. In addition to the football team, the volleyball team, the women’s soccer team, the women’s cross country team and the men’s cross country team all topped their conferences.

Even the university president is excited, and he’s been at Eastern for more than 35 years.

“Five sports – five-first place finishes,” Lou Hencken said after the football’s team’s victory. “It probably doesn’t’ get any better than that.”

Hopefully the football team can prove him wrong with a playoff victory over Northern Iowa on Saturday.