Yes it's late. Like, really late. Like, I'm-sitting-in-an-empty-newsroom-rocking-out-to-my-YouTube-playlist late.

But that's what fourth-quarter and overtime shenanigans in Stanwood will do to you. The regular season has come to an end, the Iowa state playoff fields are set, and the Drive to the Dome begins Wednesday.

First and foremost, a hearty thank-you to more than a thousand of you that joined us for our own version of Midnight Madness here with the live blog. Obviously, passion for high school football in the Quad-Cities and across the state of Iowa is not lacking at all, and we're glad you could all join us. We are in talks with trying to get a live blog set up for Wednesday night when all the substate games are in action.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, here are a few gut-check reactions from Week 9. Yes, I've got an Eastern Iowa small-school bias ... probably because that's my beat. But fret not. I'll throw in a few nuggets from the other leagues as well, and Andrew Petersen will have you covered in print and online for all your MAC football needs before Wednesday.

Here we go. I've got about 30, 40 minutes remaining on that 5-Hour Energy meter.

• Here's guessing North Cedar fans in Stanwood aren't going to forget October 23, 2009 anytime soon.
• Unfortunately, neither will Wilton fans.
• What a game that was. The 450-word game recap doesn't totally do justice to what happened. Again, North Cedar was leading by a surprise 21-0 margin after three quarters. Yes, Wilton had the ball on the Knights' 5 when the horn sounded, but still, 21 points is a ton to make up, especially on a frigid night.
• If I were to tell you that the Beavers trailed by 21 with 12 minutes to go, and would only have the ball for TWO MINUTES AND TWENTY-NINE SECONDS the rest of the way, you would've presumed the game was tucked to bed, right?
• Wrongso.
• Austin Anderson ran it in on the first play ... then scored again from 1 yard out with 7:06 to go, right after a 68-yard pass play from Alec Crawford to Ryan Waack ... then a North Cedar snap went over punter Jacob Edleman's head and into the end zone, where Wilton's Cory Gorsuch fell on it ... then ANOTHER snap goes over Edleman's head, only this time, he grabbed it and smartly ran it out of the end zone for a safety.
• Just like that, 21-0? Now 21-all. Wilton's fans were booming, North Cedar's looked stunned on the other sideline.
• So how come North Cedar's still playing and Wilton isn't? According to Edleman, who tapped his chestplate when I asked him this question, "It's the heart. We've got it, way deep down. We wanted it the whole year."
• The game went to overtime, Tyler Canfield ran it in from one yard out (then kicked the extra point, which was no easy task Friday), and on Wilton's first play, Crawford was intercepted for the fifth time - and second by Casey Jones.
• Jones was immediately mobbed, moshpitted, swarmed, attacked, jostled by his teammates and the Knights faithful which had been waiting 15 years to say, "Let's play 10!"
• North Cedar now plays at No. 6-ranked Davis County (Bloomfield), not that many Knights were letting that sully the celebration Friday night.
• Predictably, many tears were shed on both ends. That was inevitable, in a win-or-go-home situation. Just as evident as the elation on the purple side was the disappointment from the blue side.
• The Beavers played admirably in the fourth quarter, and should be commended for their efforts. Both teams should. This is why sports are great, games like the one played in Stanwood on Friday night.
• Amazing stat: we here at QCVarsity cover seven Class 2A teams. Only one made a substate game. And it's a team that is 0-0 in substate games. That's why they play the games.
• Not a great ending for the Class 3As. Maquoketa lost to Union? Kind of surprising. By a 40-0 margin? Downright puzzling. The Cardinals lost out on a hosting opportunity against 5-4 Oelwein. Instead, they'll visit 7-2 Decorah, followed by a potential rematch with Marion.
• Central DeWitt had every opportunity to make the postseason. But a 30-8 loss to Vinton-Shellsburg allows the Vikings into the final 32 and sends the Sabers packing for the year.
• Northeast ended the season hot, winning its last five. The Rebels will host Eddyville-Blakesburg in a tasty 2-3 matchup.
• Wapello and Bellevue won Friday night, ensuring postseason chances for the pair of 6-3 squads. But they'll both be on the road against top seeds - No. 3-ranked West Branch and No. 8 Clayton Ridge Guttenberg, respectively.
• And then, there is Preston. Perfect Preston. In just its second year of eight-player football, the Trojans won all nine games, claiming a District 4 championship and setting themselves up for a deep playoff run.
• Not to get ahead of ourselves, but if you put much stock in this past week's rankings, No. 5 Preston is the highest-seeded team in its quarter. Its toughest challenge before the state semifinals will be either No. 8 Maynard West Central or No. 10 CWL Corwith.
• Defending champ Lenox would be waiting at the UNI Dome. What a goal that could be for Kevin Behr's team.
• Onto the MAC: judging from the boatload of comments from our blog Friday night, many of you Assumption chaps don't much care for those Bettendorf fellows. And vice versa.
• Can't we all just get along? (No? Okay.)
• Anyway, MAC champ Clinton and Bettendorf are the only MAC teams hosting a game - they'll take on, in order, Cedar Rapids Prairie and Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
• Obviously, all 16 4A teams in the East bracket hail from the MAC and Mississippi Valley Conference. And since none of the MAC teams will play each other, it's going to be a battle for conference pride.
• It's a battle the local boys might lose. Assumption, PV, North Scott and Davenport Central all put themselves in tough spots by beating each other up and finishing 5-4, plus Burlington barely got to 4-5. Those five all go on the road - the Blue Devils are going to Dubuque, while the other four head in the direction of Cedar Rapids.
• If the Assumption Knights can pull things together and win a late-night affair with Cedar Falls at the UNI Dome Wednesday, it'll set the table for a date with Clinton in the first round on Nov. 2.
• In the other quarter, Bettendorf will only get to the state semifinals if it can get by undefeated Iowa City High.
• The Illinois pairings will be out Saturday, and Craig DeVrieze and Doug Green should be on top of that. But one thing we'll note here: with Alleman's 8-5 loss to Dunlap Friday, the Pioneers are expected to be left out of the postseason party. A shocking development for a team that shut out four opponents this season.

Have a great weekend, everybody, and we'll see you Wednesday for the substate round!