READY — Edison’s Brett Hellyer will look to have a big night when the Wildcats travel to Akron Manchester Friday night to open the playoffs. - Michael D. McElwain

NEW FRANKLIN — The Edison football team has put together a string of successful seasons, however, Edison is still looking for that elusive playoff victory.

The Wildcats wrapped up a spot in the playoffs following Week 9’s victory against Harrison Central setting the stage for Edison’s annual rivalry game against Indian Creek.

The Wildcats battled from start to finish, however, the Redskins scored a walk-off touchdown in overtime to record a 21-15 victory last Friday night out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

“It was a heartbreaker,” first-year Edison (6-4) head coach Anthony Pierro said. “It’s two years in a row against Indian Creek. I felt bad for our kids. They battled. There were just a couple of plays here and there that made the difference. I feel bad for our kids, but our season is not over. We made the playoffs. Our goal this season was to make the playoffs. We did enough to achieve that goal. We have to get back to work this week. We want to get the first playoff win in school history. Our goal from Day 1 was to make the playoffs, and we were able to achieve that goal.”

The Wildcats have had to deal with a lot of adversity this season, however, Edison found a way to make the playoffs for the seventh time in school history.

“Strides, major strides,” Pierro said asked how far his team has come since Day 1 this season. “We have had to deal with injuries and kids quitting. It has been a gut check. It’s been a gut check for me, and it’s been a gut check for the players, especially since Week 5 when JD (Henderson) went down. We have gotten better since then. We have had some losses in there, but we have gotten better as a team. We have come together. The kids have been playing their butts off. They don’t quit. They play hard. I fully expect them to come out this week and play hard. They want this game. The coaching staff has to do a good job of putting guys in the right places so they can be successful Friday night.”

The Wildcats are looking to pick up the team’s first playoff victory in school history, however, it will not be easy as Edison — the No. 11 seed — hits the road to take on No. 6 seed Manchester at 7 p.m. Friday night up at James R. France Stadium.

The two teams met in the playoffs back in 2021, and the Panthers shut out the Wildcats, 50-0, at home in the first round.

“That was Coach (Mike) Collopy’s first year as head coach, and that was my first year at Edison,” Pierro said. “They beat us pretty good.”

Manchester also defeated Edison, 35-7, back in 2020 in the first round of the playoffs at the old Cartwright Memorial Stadium.

“I say its Akron,” Pierro said asked where Manchester is located. “They have a new stadium. They have a nice campus. Their stadium is nice. They play in front of nice crowds. They’re a pretty good team.”

Manchester opened the season by defeating Coventry (2-8), 62-0, Sandy Valley (0-10), 48-13, Firestone (1-9), 45-7 and Canton South (5-5), 35-17. Manchester lost to Kenston (6-4), 24-17, in Week 5 before defeating Tuslaw (4-6), 28-21, and Fairless (4-6), 42-13, the next two weeks. The Panthers then lost two-straight games as Manchester fell to Triway (9-1), 49-7, and Orrville (6-4), 38-25, before defeating Northwest (6-4), 21-7, to close out the regular season.

“Honestly, they remind me of us,” Pierro said. “We have the same type of kids. We have hard-nosed kids. They want to run the ball. They can throw the ball. Their quarterback is 6-3. He can throw the ball, but they want to run the ball. I think we have a good shot of competing with them. I really believe that.”

The boys from Summit County will run the ball out of different formations.

“They can spread you out, but they also can run double tight end,” Pierro said. “Their running back is a lot like Brett Hellyer. He’s 5-6 or 5-7. He’s really quick. He does a good job of reading his blocks. He’s patient. Our No. 1 priority is slowing down the running game. The last game, he had 200 yards rushing and two 70-yard touchdowns. He can bust them for a big play.

“They want to run the football. We want to make them have to throw the football. We have to stop the run. We have to force them to throw the football. We want to make them one dimensional.”

Winning the line of scrimmage will be crucial Friday night.

“Size-wise, I’d say we are about the same,” Pierro said. “I think we are pretty even. We need to win the line of scrimmage. Winning the line of scrimmage is going to be huge. It is going to be a big test for us up front. We are going to have to be able to get the ball to our skill guys in space. They love to blitz. We’re going to have to be able to slow down their defense.”

Defensively, Manchester likes to pressure the quarterback.

“They run a 3-3-5,” Pierro said. “They like to blitz. They blitz from the inside, and they blitz from the outside. We are going to have to come up with some things scheme-wise to slow them down. We want to run the ball too, but that can be hard to do against the blitz.”

The Wildcats are going to have to respond when faced with adversity against the Panthers.

“Offensively, we are going to have to stay in ahead of the chains,” Pierro said. “We are going to have to be able to finish drives. Scoring two touchdowns is not going to be enough. We are going to have to be able to score three or four touchdowns to realistically give ourselves a chance. They’re good.

“We are going to have to survive the first quarter, and then we are going to have to survive the first half. We are going to have to come out and have to play well in the second half. We’re going to have to show them that we are there to compete. We are going to have to be able to take what they give us. We want to give ourselves a chance to win it in the fourth quarter.

“We want to get the first playoff win in our school’s history. We are going up there to compete. The kids want this bad. I want it bad for them. They deserve it. We have had some tough endings the last few weeks. I want them to get that first playoff win. Winning a playoff game is a special feeling. They deserve to experience that feeling.”

The Wildcats have qualified for the playoffs for the six-straight seasons. Edison’s first appearance came in 2002.

The Panthers have made the playoffs for two straight seasons, and they have made it 29 times overall with their first appearance coming back in 1989.