Staff file photo / Preston Byers South Range’s Aidan Dominguez throws a stiff arm during the Raiders’ game against Springfield in August.

When the Ohio High School Athletic Association football playoffs began, the Northeast 8 Athletic Conference (NE8) could consider itself well-represented.

After two rounds of playoffs, though, the number of NE8 postseason teams has been trimmed from six to two.

The final two, Poland and South Range, are the only area teams left standing from a stacked Division V, Region 17 bracket that included seven Mahoning Valley teams, including four from the NE8.

The conference is accustomed to seeing one or multiple of its teams making deep runs into the playoffs, and South Range head coach David Rach said the reason as to why is pretty straightforward.

“It’s kind of one of those deals where iron sharpens iron,” Rach said. “Our league presents a lot of really good coaching staffs and a lot of really talented players … We’re fortunate in that it feels like for 10 weeks in a row, and especially in those NE8 matchups, it feels like you’re playing a playoff-caliber team every [week].”

When the regular season concluded, only one team in the conference had lost more than they won. Additionally, had No. 1 seed South Range and No. 8 Girard not been forced to play each other in the regional quarterfinals, the NE8 very well may have had a majority in the Region 17 semifinals.

In a rematch from October, the Raiders remained undefeated and eliminated the Indians from the postseason last week with a 49-30 victory.

Rach said having to prepare for any team twice in a season is a challenge, but doing so against one of the NE8’s best like Girard a week ago made it especially difficult.

“What’s great about the NE8 is every week presents a unique challenge in terms of matchups, in terms of styles of play,” Rach said. “…With Girard especially, it’s a great coaching staff, and every game against them is a big one. Playing them twice in the same season definitely feels like you’re kind of playing with fire.”

Poland head football coach Tom Pavlansky is well aware of the grind, as well as the benefits and pride of playing in the NE8.

Pavlansky has coached a team in the conference since its inception in 2018; he served as the head coach at Lakeview, one of the eight founding members, until 2021 when he returned to his alma mater.

“We all got our share of football-rich tradition, and more than that, a tradition of excellence in athletics – all the schools,” Pavlansky said. “I think that goes a long way, where kids grew up in communities and they want to do well, they want to represent, their community, their town, their homes or families, their school, well.”

The Bulldogs and Raiders have certainly represented their league well, as each have won their first two playoff games by at least three scores.

Poland (10-2) defeated Canton Central Catholic 39-18 in the opening round of the postseason before taking out Martins Ferry 34-14 last week.

South Range (12-0) dominated Navarre Fairless for a second consecutive year 56-13 before earning a second win against Girard this season.

Both coaches are quick to credit their seniors for their success albeit under different circumstances.

For the Raiders, many of their current seniors already have a state championship to their names after the 2022 team went undefeated en route to a state title. Rach also said South Range’s seniors were the beneficiaries of a smaller-than-usual senior class last season.

“We were fortunate last year that our seniors allowed these juniors to help lead as juniors, and they’ve only built upon that,” Rach said. These are guys that have meant so much to our program for so long, and we’re so proud of them. I’m especially proud of the way that they handle themselves off the field, the way that they perform and compete on the field, the way they prepare week-to-week. I think it speaks volumes and speaks for itself.”

Entering the season, Pavlansky made it clear that his team was not necessarily young, but they were inexperienced after many sat behind a large number of seniors last season.

The growth and leadership they have displayed, Pavlansky said, has been a “huge part” in taking the Bulldogs to the regional semifinals.

“We got a tremendous senior class, and all they’ve done is come to work,” Pavlansky said. “They love football, they love their teammates and they’ve gotten better each day.”

Poland will travel to Louisville today for a matchup with No. 2 seed Akron Manchester, which beat both Liberty and Burton Berkshire by at least three scores to reach the regional semifinals.

“It jumps out at you on film that this is a really good football team in all phases of the game, which you should expect to play Week 13,” Pavlansky said of Manchester. “I would hope to think that whoever wins on Friday, they’re going to earn that opportunity to be in Week 14 in a regional final.”

South Range heads to Minerva to play No. 5 Sugarcreek Garaway, which beat the NE8’s Lakeview, as well as Garfield, in the first two rounds of the postseason.

“They’re a tremendous football program,” Rach said of Garaway. “I think they’ve been in the Sweet 16 now, I don’t know, it feels like at least half of the past 20 years. They played in the state semifinals last year before falling victim to Kirtland, but we’ve been down that road too, and they played them really tough. They’re a really good football program. They’re very physical. I think stylistically, they’re really similar to us.”

Both Rach and Pavlansky said they expect to be in battles in the fourth quarter with a regional final appearance on the line, which, if they’re both successful, would mean a rematch between the Raiders and Bulldogs next week. Poland lost the first meeting 38-30 on Sept. 27, and to date, no other team has come that close to defeating South Range this season.

Just like with any of the 16 teams remaining in Division V, though, the next game could be the last for their seniors, so there will be no looking ahead to what could be next Friday. Every bit of focus is on the here and now.

“We’re gonna try,” Pavlansky said, “to make this sucker last as long as we can.”