HCHS hopes strong playoff push starts with Creston

 HARLAN (Oct. 12) -- When the Harlan Community football team suffered its first loss of the year against Sergeant Bluff-Luton in Week 2, the Cyclones bounced back the following Friday night to beat Carroll 35-6.
 Another fast recovery will be needed tonight when HCHS hosts Creston/Orient-Macksburg for a Class 3A, District 9 matchup at 7 p.m.
 After losing at second-ranked Lewis Central 49-14 last week, HCHS must likely win its final two regular-season games to have a shot at making the playoffs as a wild card. The Cyclones (5-2 overall, 2-1 District 9) only dropped one spot to 11th in this week’s 3A RPI standings released by the Iowa High School Athletic Association, so if the playoffs started right now they would be in the field.
 The LC game left the Cyclones banged up at a few key positions, but they appear to have the depth to cover up those spots adequately.
 Sophomore Brenden Bartley, who has shown great promise as a reserve tailback so far this year (27 carries, 199 yards) will likely get his first start Friday in place of the injured Alex Schechinger. Senior Caleb Bieker, meanwhile, returns to his 2017 position (fullback) to help solidify the backfield. If Johnathan Monson is unable to play, Jonathan Cheek will make his first start at wide receiver.
 Creston/O-M comes to town with an overall record of 2-5 and a district mark of 1-2, sporting a 43-20 Week 2 win over Atlantic and a 16-13 victory against ADM in Week 6. Coach Curt Bladt called the Panthers a difficult team to prepare for and says that their win over previously 4-1 ADM was not a fluke.