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CADIZ -- Harrison Central and head coach Anthony Hayes began their journey Monday to do what no Huskies team has yet to do--win a playoff game.
There was a time when wins in general, let alone playoff appearances, were a major difficulty during the early days of the Harrison County consolidation.
Those days are long gone thankfully, but one accomplishment still evades Harrison, that first postseason victory.
Friday night in Wayne County as Hayes and company make the trek to Creston to face Norwayne in an Ohio Division V regional opening round tilt.
"Our kids are excited to earn this opportunity," Hayes said. "A lot of teams are sitting at home and not playing, so they understand and recognize how important this is.
"This was one of our goals early on, to qualify for the playoffs, and they are anxious for the opportunity.
We've never won a playoff game. This is our sixth appearance so we're excited for the chance to finally win one."
Snapping that postseason losing streak will be no easy task.
Waiting on the other end of that near 2-hour trek up U.S. 250 is the Norwayne Bobcats and their 7-3 record.
Norwayne has fought through a tough slate, with all but three opponents featuring a winning record.
The combined record of their opponents in 54-46. In the Bobcats' three losses, only a 41-16 defeat to Dalton (8-2) in Week 9 stands out as a game that got out of hand. The other two losses? 36-35 to Canton Central Catholic in Week 2, and 28-20 to Northwestern three weeks later.
Norwayne quite easily could be 9-1 right now, so Hayes knows the challenge awaiting his team.
"They are a very good football team and very sound defensively," Hayes said. "They have a good running back, and their quarterback kind of caught my eye right away as he has a big arm and a quick
release. They have big targets on the outside and not a lot of weaknesses."
The Bobcats have balance and primarily line up in a spread formation, often times with one running back and an h-back sitting at the wing position.
The QB can run, quite well in fact, but doesn't seem keen to. That's because he's handing off to all-Ohio running back Jake Gill.
The senior ran for 1,319 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2021 while also finishing as the team's leading receiver. His numbers, or impact, have not diminished as a senior as he's the focal point of the team's balanced attack.
A balanced attack, with good size up front, good speed, led by a talented running back. It sounds an awful lot like one of the Huskies previous opponents this season.
"Beaver is a really fast team with excellent speed, but (these two) are very similar," Hayes said. "They run the same style of defense, same way of attacking."
While the head coach is different, the coaching staff at Norwayne is pretty much intact from its 2011 state championship win against Kenton.
"It's a veteran staff," Hayes said. "They know what they are doing, preparing, and getting all the pieces
in the right place. We have to be ready to get off the bus and take care of business."
Fortunately for Hayes and company, things have been on an upswing since a Week 9 win against Indian Creek stopped a losing streak.
What followed was a big win against rival Buckeye Local that brought the V.A.L.E.S. Trophy back to Harrison County and kept the Huskies confidence level riding high heading into Week 11.
"Our attitude has been great, the kids stayed positive through that losing streak and the last two weeks have been upbeat and positive," Hayes said.