FIELD OF CHAMPIONS — To merely say that the standards of performance for the Piedmont football program have increased since Steve Smith became coach would be an exercise in understatement.

In the decade before Smith arrived in 2006, about the only thing the Bulldogs knew about the state playoffs was that they took place somewhere every fall, in other towns and communities in other parts of Alabama.

These days, any conversation about bringing home the Class 3A state title necessarily contains references to Smith's Bulldogs. With Friday night's 34-24 win over Sheffield, Piedmont advances to the quarterfinal round for the fifth consecutive year. The Bulldogs won the state title in 2009.

When Smith spoke to the media Friday night after addressing his team in the post-game locker room, he sounded like a teacher who had just finished scolding his favorite straight-A student for finally making his first B.

"We made enough mistakes tonight to lose, but we battled back," Smith said. "We can't have another performance like this in the playoffs and expect to win."

Smith was just as hard on himself and his staff.

"I didn't do my best job tonight, that's for sure. I made some mistakes, too," he said. "Everyone gets caught up with a win and I'm happy with the results. But we didn't coach well tonight and we didn't play well, and we've got to get better."

Fans who didn't watch the game with an eye quite as keen as Smith's still saw seniors Jamie Major and Chris Strott generate the bulk of the Bulldogs' considerable offensive output Friday night. Major carried 12 times for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Strott rushed for 105 yards and passed for 146 more and a touchdown. Overall, the Bulldog racked up over 400 yards of offense; the defense held Sheffield to 166 yards rushing.

Those numbers sound impressive, and they are. But Smith knows what it takes to come home from Tuscaloosa with a Blue Trophy, and he didn't see that kind of effort from his team last week. Come Friday it's likely that Smith will have his team playing even better. And if they can compete at that level for three more weeks, someone may have to build a bigger trophy display case at the entrance to the already aptly named Field of Champions.