Northeastern hasn’t played a conference rival in the playoffs since 1988 when the Jets fell to Central Buckeye Conference member Urbana 10-7 in a regional semifinal game.
“It’s going to be a great atmosphere,” said Northeastern coach Jake Buchholtz. “We’re definitely happy to be home.”
Northeastern and Greeneview didn’t play in the regular season after the conference crossover schedule switched this fall. Northeastern beat Greeneview 19-6 in 2021 and won a 21-20 OT thriller last year.
Both coaches expect another tight game Friday with the season on the line.
“I’m excited for our kids and our program,” said Rams coach Ryan Haines. “(Northeastern is) a good football team. They’re tough, physical and well-coached. It’s what high school football is all about. In Week 11 in Ohio, it’s going to be two good teams going at it.”
Over the last few weeks, the two programs knew this matchup could come to fruition this week.
“It’s neat because they’re very similar to us this year,” Buchholtz said. “They were senior-heavy last year, graduated a ton of kids, but they’ve got a good culture, brought a lot of new faces in and they’ve kind of carried the torch for them.”
Last season, Northeastern beat Waynesville 45-22 in the first round for the program’s first-ever playoff win in 10 previous playoff appearances.
After beating Division VI top-ranked West Jefferson on Senior Night last week, Northeastern moved into the top eight in D-V, Region 20. Northeastern will host a first-round playoff game for the third straight season.
“Our seniors didn’t want that to be the last home game on Friday,” Buchholtz said. “That was a huge motivation for them to come out and get a big win so we could be here again in Week 11.”
Greeneview has won 15 straight OHC South Division games and are in the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
“I’m extremely proud of our kids, our program and our community,” Haines said. “It’s a program thing. It starts with our youth program, kids getting involved in football at a young age and sticking with it. … Our junior high program does a great job of transitioning young kids to the high school level. Obviously at the varsity level, the kids understand the expectations and create their own culture of expectations in the weight room and the work ethic that goes into winning championships and making the playoffs.”
Both teams are led by strong running games and physical offensive lines. The key to winning the game will be mistake-free football, Haines said.
“If we can win the turnover margin, control the line of scrimmage and be sound on special teams, we’ll have a shot,” he said.
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