HCHS looks to lock down playoff spot with Week 9 win
HARLAN (Oct. 25) -- For the Harlan Community football team, the playoff picture remains partly cloudy going into Friday’s Week 9 home game and regular season finale vs. Winterset.
Following last week’s 40-0 romp at Creston, HCHS moved up three spots to No. 8 in the lastest Class 3A RPI rankings, putting the 6-2 Cyclones in prime position to earn at least a wildcard berth (with a win) when the playoff pairings are released late tonight by the Iowa High School Athletic Association.
Earning a District 9 title is still a long shot. HCHS is currently in a three-way tie for first with Lewis Central (No. 3 RPI) and Glenwood (No. 12) at 3-1 in the district. Since all three teams are 1-1 against each other, the tie would be broken by the RPI rankings if all three win on Friday. LC plays at ADM (5-3, 2-2) and Glenwood hosts Creston (2-6, 0-4).
As it stands right now, Harlan’s best chance at the district title (and a first round home game in the playoffs) would be to defeat Winterset (4-4, 1-3) and have Glenwood lose to Creston, giving HCHS the head-to-head tiebreaker over LC.
There is a possibility the Cyclones could still make the playoffs with a loss Friday, but that’s certainly not the approach the team is taking into a 7 p.m. kickoff at Merrill Field.
“We’re just going to approach it like it’s a playoff game and take it from there,” said HCHS interim head coach Todd Bladt. “We don’t want to put (anything) to chance... so we’re going to go in with both guns blazing and just plan that if we win, we’re in; if we lose we’re out.”
Winterset comes to Harlan one week after a somewhat surprising 12-9 home loss to ADM. Earlier this season, the Huskies played Glenwood tough in a 35-28 defeat, then were shut out at LC 28-0 a week later.
Senior quarterback Jaden Sweeney, son of Winterset head coach Zach Sweeney, is currently tied with Daniel Wright of Sergeant Bluff-Luton for the second most passing yards in Class 3A with 2,006. Sweeney has completed 58 percent of his passes, throwing 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
His top targets are seniors Brock Johnson and Easton Darling, who rank first and 11th, respectively, in Class 3A receiving. Johnson has caught 46 passes for 934 yards and 10 TDs while Darling has 32 receptions for 589 yards and four TDs.
Winterset (4-4, 1-3) at HCHS (6-2, 3-1) • Friday, Oct. 25 • 7:00 p.m.
Series History
HCHS leads, 10-2.
at Harlan: HCHS leads, 5-1; at Winterset: HCHS leads, 5-1; Playoffs: HCHS leads, 3-0.
Last 4 Meetings
2015: HCHS won 34-13 (at Harlan)
2016: Winterset won 47-21 (at Harlan)
2017: HCHS won 7-6 (at Winterset)
2018: HCHS won 28-0 (at Winterset)