Playoff time is here for Big Red
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STEUBENVILLE -- It’s once again playoff time in Death Valley.
After finishing as the No. 1 seed in Division III, Region 11 and earning a well-deserved bye week, the Big Red football team is set to open its 26th-straight and 39th overall playoff appearance Friday night when No. 9 seed Jackson comes to Harding Stadium.
“It was a good week, but we’ll see how good it really was in the beginning of the game this Friday,” Big Red head coach Reno Saccoccia said of the bye week. “We’re excited to get back on the field.”
Jackson went on the road in the opening round and upset No. 8 Linden-McKinley 28-14 to earn the trip to Steubenville.
The Ironmen are 8-3 on the season and winners of their last five-straight games.
“The first thing you notice is they’re big,” Saccoccia said of Jackson. “We’ve been going against big teams all year, but this is a really big, experienced line and they just have some really good football players. In high school, that’s what you want. You want good football players, and that’s what they have. They’re deep and they’re well-coached. It’s going to be an exciting night.”
By finishing as the top seed in the region, Big Red would also play at Harding Stadium again next week with a victory on Friday night, something the team worked hard all-year to be able to achieve.
“Especially with the way the playoffs are today when there’s so much traveling involved, it’s a very exciting thing to be able to play at home,” Saccoccia said. “Jackson had to go to Columbus last week and they’re coming to Steubenville this week, and if they win, they’ve got to go on the road again, it’s just a lot of traveling. So, to play at home is just part of the strategy. I know it is for us.”
It also gives the Big Red nation another chance to pack into Harding Stadium and support the team.
“Part of the reason why you want to play at home is because you want to give your fans something to celebrate, you want a way to thank them,” Saccoccia said. “And I think a home game in the playoffs is a very good way to thank your fans for their support and the way they’ve backed the team all year.”
Big Red is 82-34 all-time in the playoffs.
Jackson is making its 21st overall playoff appearance, its ninth straight and 11th in the last 12 years. The Ironmen are 16-20 all-time in the postseason.
Jackson and Big Red have one common opponent this season as both have a win over Wheelersburg during the regular season. The Ironmen’s other wins have come over Gallia Academy, Western Brown, Hillsboro, McClain, Washington Court House Washington and Chillicothe.
MaxPreps ranks the Ironmen at No. 20 in Division III, while Martin RPI has them at No. 24. They average 34 points per game and allow an average of 16.3, while Big Red, ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps, No. 4 in the final Ohio AP Poll, No. 4 by Martin RPI and No. 2 by Joe Eitel, scores an average of 33.3 points per game and allows an average of 17.8.
The winner of the match up will take on the winner of No. 4 Athens and No. 5 Dover in the regional semifinal on Nov. 13.
The opening kick on Friday night is set for 7 p.m.