Olathe ? First-year programs often struggle to get off the ground.

That hasn’t been the case for Veritas Christian, which is 7-2 entering tonight’s KCAA playoff game against Christ Prep at Olathe’s Heritage Park.

“I thought we might be pretty good,” said Veritas coach Doug Bennett, who led the Eagles through their four-year transformation from junior-high to junior-varsity program before this inaugural varsity campaign. “You never know until you go out and play. I knew we didn’t have a lot of depth, but I thought if we could stay healthy we would be able to compete. It’s been an exciting year.”

Exciting would be an appropriate word for a team that averages 40.2 points per game. It hasn’t all been easy, though. The Eagles suffered a 68-0 loss to St. Mary’s on Oct. 22 in their regular-season finale.

“It makes you hungry when you get beat like that,” Bennett said. “You want to get that taste of your mouth. The guys are anxious to get back on the field.”

After a week off, Veritas will open the four-team playoff against Christ Prep (5-4). The winner will face the winner of tonight’s game between St. Mary’s and Topeka Cair Paravel in Saturday’s championship game.

“Our goal from the beginning was to make the KCAA state playoffs,” Bennett said. “Every team’s goal is to make state, but when you’re a first-year program, you don’t know how realistic that is.”

Bennett’s eight-man squad has just 16 players, but only two — running back Paul Kempf and reserve Josh Hilger — are seniors.

“We have a bright future,” Bennett said.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.