RICHMOND — The Indian Creek and Edison football teams have achieved their goal of making the playoffs, however, plenty is still on the line as the Redskins and Wildcats get set to battle this week in the final game of the regular season.

“It flew by,” first-year Edison (6-3) head coach Anthony Pierro said about it already being Week 10.

For whatever reason, football season always seems to go by quickly no matter the type of season a team is having.

“People say it’s the 10 fastest weeks of the year, and they are not kidding,” Indian Creek (8-1) head coach Andrew Connor said.

The Redskins and Wildcats are set to renew their longstanding rivalry at 7 p.m. Friday night out at the Edison Unified Sports Complex.

The Redskins are entering play this week coming off its first loss of the season as St. Clairsville defeated Indian Creek, 28-21, in overtime last Friday night at Kettlewell Stadium

“They just made one more play than we did,” Connor said. “We got behind 21-0, and we could have easily said this is not our night and we could have rolled over, but we didn’t. I was really proud of our effort in the second half. That second half was one of the best efforts we have had during my time here. The kids never quit. In the process of football, you are going to have to deal with adversity. Being down 21 points is the most adversity we have had to face this season, and we handled it well.”

On the other side of things, the Wildcats enter play this week fresh off a big win as Edison scored 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to rally and defeat Harrison Central, 35-19, at Wagner Field.

“We got a score quickly,” Pierro said. “We got a couple of big stops on defense. The first one, we got a turnover, and then the second one, we got a turnover on downs. We did the right things. We stayed together. We did not quit. We battled. Down by a score in the fourth quarter, we could have quit, but we didn’t. We stuck together, and found a way to win.”

It is always a big game when the Redskins and the Wildcats battle it out on the gridiron.

“It is a huge game,” Pierro said. “It is not just the rivalry, but it is also for playoff seedings. It is the same thing for Indian Creek. There is a lot on the line. We accomplished our first goal of making the playoffs. Now, we want to achieve our second goal of getting a home game. Indian Creek is going to be a challenge for us.”

Bragging rights are certainly on the line this week as the two Jefferson County rivals are set to meet once again.

“It is a big game,” Connor said. “It is a rivalry game. It is the fact both schools are so close. The games have been very competitive the last six, seven, eight years. Edison is well coached. They do a lot of things well. Coach Pierro has done a really, really good job in his first year as head coach.”

Quarterback is viewed as the most important position on the field, and Indian Creek has a good one in senior Ian Starkey.

“Starkey is really good,” Pierro said. “It all starts with the quarterback. He can throw the ball, but he also does a heck of a job scrambling. He makes the right plays. We are going to have to tackle in space. Then, they have the two-headed monster at running back of (Gavin) Pownall and (Bruce) Mazar. They are a good 1-2 punch. They have their whole offensive line back. We are going to have to contain them. If they make a mistake, we have to be able to take advantage of it.”

The Wildcats have had to use two starting quarterbacks this season after senior standout JD Henderson in the second quarter of Edison’s Week 5 loss at Caldwell.

“They are both very good athletes,” Connor said. “They both do things specific to themselves. One thing we do see is they run the ball really well. They run things out of what seems like a billion different formations. They have a really good tailback in Brett Hellyer. One thing we have seen out of Nolan Haught at quarterback is he has done a good job with the passing game and using it as a complement to their running game.”

Defensively, the Redkins have allowed at least 28 points in each of the last four weeks, however, Pierro knows the Redskins are tough on that side of the ball.

“Defensively, it is the same thing,” Pierro said. “Their running backs our their inside linebackers, and they do a good job of stopping the run. No. 54 (Luke McMillion) and No. 77 (Nishon White) are defensive linemen. They’re big, they eat blockers and they take up space. They have good guys in their secondary. They’re physical, and they get downhill. We are going to have to keep them on their toes.”

After allowing 48 points in a Week 6 loss to rival Toronto, the Wildcats have done a better job defensively the last three weeks.

“They’re fast, and they’re physical,” Connor said. “They have a great set of linebackers. They set their defense well. They adjust well. They run multiple fronts. Their secondary does a good job of defending against the pass. They don’t give up a lot of big plays. They are aggressive. They tackle well in space. They are physical. Their defense is old school. They present a lot of problems offensively. We are going to have to stay in front of the chains.”

The Wildcats are going to have to be able to run the football if they want to defeat the Redskins.

“We are going to have to run the football,” Pierro said. “We are going to have to be able to get our athletes the ball. We are going to have to limit big plays. We can’t let Starkey run around and make big plays. He does a great job of making something out of nothing. We are going to have to bottle him up. We are going to have to win the line of scrimmage on the offensive side and the defensive side. That is our main focus.”

Indian Creek is need to get off to a good start this week against Edison.

“The biggest thing for us is we have to get off to a better start,” Connor said. “We have not gotten off to good starts even in the weeks before St. Clairsville. We have to play well from the start. We just dug ourselves too deep of a hole. We don’t want to be having to play from behind. We don’t want to have to chase them. We want to play well from the start on offense, defense and special teams.”

The Redskins are making their second straight trip to the playoffs.

“It means a lot,” Connor said. “If you make the playoffs one year, but then you don’t follow through and make the playoffs the second year, people are going to say you are not a consistent program. We want to be a consistent program. We want to be like we were in the 12 years before we struggled for those three years. You want to go into the playoffs on a good note. You want to be playing well. You want to use this game as a springboard into the playoffs. Both teams are in the playoffs, so it is about wanting to finish with a win and get a home game.”

The Wildcats have made the playoff six straight times.

“It shows where we are at as a program,” Pierro said. “Coach (Mike) Collopy did a good job of setting up the program. These seniors — with everything that has transpired — to have already qualified for the playoffs going into Week 10 is big. We accomplished our first goal. Now, we want to achieve our goal of getting a home game.”

The Redskins enter the game in fifth place in the Ohio Division IV, Region 15 rankings, while the Wildcats enter the game in seventh place in the Division V, Region 17 rankings.

With a win, Indian Creek will finish anywhere from second place in the region down to sixth place. With a loss, the Redskins will finish anywhere from fourth place down to ninth. With a win, Edison will finish anywhere from fourth place to ninth place. With a loss, the Wildcats will finish anywhere from sixth place to 12th place.

The top 12 teams in each region qualify for the playoffs. The top four teams in each region receive a bye in the first round.