(North Judson, IN) — They had knocked on the door four times…and finally, North Judson’s football team burst through it.

Last Friday, the Blue Jays made their fourth consecutive trip to the Class 1A semistate, but this time, Brett Lambert’s team finally punched its ticket to the state championship game with a 46-0 decimation of South Adams.

“There’s definitely joy there,” remarked Lambert at Tuesday’s practice. “Maybe relief, there’s probably a little bit of that as well. We got that win on Friday, there was a little bit of exhale, but then, it’s like ‘who we playin’? Providence? Ok, now it’s on to the next team.”

“For me, it’s definitely ‘finally’,” said senior fullback Brock Benson. “After three years of making semistate, you always want to push that extra step and finally made it. But you only party for two days, and then you gotta lock in for state.”

It’s the first time a North Judson football team has reached the finals since 1986.

“I was happy for a little while,” admitted senior lineman Cole Kozecar. “But then Monday came around and we said ‘We’re gonna get this done on Saturday'”.

It’s easy to understand why the top-ranked Blue Jays are confident. They have outscored their opposition 757-100, and no game has been closer than 21 points.  Saturday’s foe, #2 Providence, comes in with a record of 13-0, after a 35-30 win over South Putnam in the semistate.

“They’ve got a really good team,” notes Lambert. “Their quarterback is very dynamic. He’s a dual-threat guy. He has a good arm, but boy his feet are quick. They’ve got a good offensive line in front of him. They’ve got some speed, too. The last couple years, they lost to Indy Lutheran who would go to the state championship, and we lost to Adams Central, who would go to the state championship. So, it’s a unique thing that the obstacle has been removed for both of us.”

Saturday’s 1A state championship at Lucas Oil Stadium is set for 11 am ET (10 am CT).