(Harlan) 9-0 Harlan will oppose 5-4 Ballard in a first round playoff football matchup in Class 3A on Friday.
Harlan coach Todd Bladt says Ballard is a pretty good football team that does a lot of things well, starting with their offensive line. “They are well coached that way. Really talented skill guys. It kind of depends who is going to play. It’s almost like we have to prepare for two different offenses. They’ve had three quarterbacks play the last few weeks with a wildcat guy, a guy that can sling it pretty good, and then more of a runner.”
Harlan has outscored their last two opponents 118-0. The defense has three shutouts this year along with two other games where they gave up just one score. Coach Bladt says it’s a product of good teamwork. “Playing together. That’s always the best when you can get a team to come together and play for each other. Defensively you have to be able to do that. That’s the only way you can make it work is if you don’t care who is going to get the credit.”
Harlan’s 36-29 comeback win over Lewis Central in Week 1 was by far their closest game. All others have been decided by at least four touchdowns, but that’s subject to change moving forward. “That’s what playoff football is all about. You are going to have some struggles at some point. You are going to be playing good competition. We are going to see good competition on Friday night. We just have to play within ourselves and not panic.”
Connor Frame capped off a great regular season with a very impressive Week 8 contest. In the 76-0 win at Knoxville, Frame caught six passes for 155 yards. He scored five touchdowns with one on a punt return and four on receptions.
Ballard was just 2-4 at one point, but has won three straight games to make the postseason as the #16 team in the RPI. They’ve averaged 47 points per game over the last three weeks.
Harlan coach Todd Bladt:
