EDMONDS — The Edmonds-Woodway football team knows what it’s like to be the odd man out.

The Warriors were on the brink of advancing to the postseason last fall but saw the Western Conference 4A South Division’s third and final berth slip from their hands when Shorewood rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit for a stunning 12-10 victory to cap the regular season.

Both teams finished with 6-3 records, but the Thunderbirds grabbed the playoff nod because of the head-to-head victory.

Two years ago, Edmonds-Woodway and Shorewood again had 6-3 records but the Warriors lost out on the postseason because of a regular-season loss to the Thunderbirds.

Edmonds-Woodway coach John Gradwohl views the last couple of years as simply part of the process of building a successful program.

Last year’s loss to Shorewood just as easily could have been a victory and a 3-point, season-opening loss to Meadowdale also could have be far different, he said.

“I don’t look at last year as anything other than we were just a victim of our circumstances,” Gradwohl said. “(Those) were tough, hard-fought games that any other night could have gone the other way.”

If anything, the Warriors have learned from their close losses.

“This team realizes there’s going to be tough games like that this year and you’ve got to be ready,” said Gradwohl, who added that the coaching staff also has to be prepared for anything.

“I think we have a really good winning attitude and we feel confident we can play with anybody. But we also realize that we need to play four complete quarters of football because this league is so tough.”

Senior running back Glenn Gallagher, who is expected to take over for Husky recruit Kyle Trew, draws motivation from the narrow defeats.

“You do learn from the losing experience,” he said. “You try harder and harder to win those (games) … I have a feeling that this year is going to be a lot different.”

A couple of major differences not to the Warriors’ advantage are the absence of two Division I recruits, Trew and tight end Casey Tyler, both of whom are at the University of Washington. First-team, all-league linebacker Mike Mizuha also graduated.

The absence of those three players left a pretty big void, according to senior quarterback Phillip Baker.

“Those players, they’re not only great players. They’re great leaders,” Baker said. “I think we have guys that are capable of doing a lot of the jobs that they did.”

One of those players is quite familiar to the Warriors and the rest of the league. Gallagher, a first-team, all-league running back, was a more than adequate replacement in the backfield when Trew was sidelined early in the season.

“Everybody knows what he can do,” Baker said of Gallagher. “Glenn just stepped up real big last year and he’s looking better now than he did last year.”

Gradwohl sees Gallagher as a little more explosive runner than Trew, who was hobbled somewhat by injuries.

Following in the footsteps of such standout running backs as Trew and Landon Hall is a challenge Gallagher is excited about and has looked forward to for a long time.

Some teams might not have been prepared for Gallagher last season.

“I’m just hoping to do my best,” he said. “Last year I got lucky. Most teams didn’t really know me.”

Gallagher will be seeing plenty of familiar faces in the huddle. Every member of the offensive line saw varsity action last year and three of them are returning starters.

Baker feels that the line is one of the team’s strengths.

“They’ve been amazing,” he said. “The better they get, the better we’re going to be because we believe it all starts with our offensive line.”

The senior class realizes that this is their final year and they are ready to make a strong push for the playoffs.

“We’ve been right there on the edge, pretty much one game out,” Baker said. “This is our last year of playing football for this school and we want to send it out with a bang.

“We’re determined to go as far as possible. We have high hopes.”