There's something to be said for a high school football team still practicing in mid-November.

"It's definitely different practicing now," said Arcadia senior quarterback and safety AJ Bellville. "I mean, we never did this before, but it's really exciting to be practicing now."

"Normally, football gear is all put away, the sled's put away," said Arcadia head coach Derek Updike. "To see the kids come walking out here with their pads is really special."

For the first time in school history, Arcadia is strapping up the pads to prepare for game No. 14, a match-up in Madison with St. Mary's Springs for the Division 5 state title. It's a feat only the Raiders may have thought was possible.

"It's great, because we've been underdogs and nobody would ever expect us to even get this far," said Raiders senior fullback and linebacker Kyle Tamke. "Now, we're here ... we're going to state."

"Everybody else seems to think we're the underdog and they forget to tell us," Updike said. "Our kids really don't pay attention to that."

Four weeks ago, Arcadia only had one playoff win to its credit, but a speedy rushing attack and an impressive defense would lead to four convincing postseason victories. The real spark for the Raiders, however, would come with the playoffs in jeopardy.

"Westby game, We were like, 'We got to win this game,'" Tamke said. "'If we don't win it, we're not making playoffs.' After that game, we were like, 'We got to win it all, all the way to make it.'"

"That was what really propelled us was the way we were able to win that game and get into the playoffs," Updike said. "We knew once we got into the playoffs, we could do some things."

Even with a string of playoff defeats, the Raiders never quit believing they could be the ones playing in Camp Randall. While they'll be happy with their season no matter how it ends, Arcadia's focused on capping their year as state champions for the first time.

"It means a lot," Bellville said. "I mean, a lot of the guys have been talking about how we'll be remembered, you know, for a while as a team that took us past Level 2 for football."

"It'd be nice if we win, but if we lose, we can still say we made it to state," Tamke said. "There's only 14 teams that make it every year. This will probably be remembered for a long time."

Arcadia will take on St. Mary's Springs in the Division 5 state title game at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday in Madison. Watch WEAU 13 News Thursday for complete coverage of the Division 5, 6 and 7 state championship games.