It took a lot for the Canal Winchester High School football team to qualify for the postseason this year, the third consecutive playoff appearance the Indians have had under coach Phil Mauro.

Not only did the Indians need to win the final four games of the regular season after losing to Amanda-Clearcreek 7-0 on Oct. 2, but they also needed some teams to lose last Friday.

St. Charles and New Philadelphia both lost in the final week to fall out of the top eight in Division II Region 7, allowing Canal Winchester to sneak in and claim the No. 7 seed.

"Well, we're real excited and we're happy for the guys, because they worked hard for it," Mauro said. "So I'm happy to see them get the rewards for all their hard work."

The reward for earning the seventh seed is a matchup with second-seeded Logan, a team that finished the regular season 10-0 and has wins over Division I playoff teams Lancaster (33-14 on Aug. 28) and Pickerington North (24-21 on Sept. 4), as well as Division IV qualifier Ironton (21-7 on Sept. 25).

Logan's spread offense is led by quarterback Patrick Angle. He has thrown for 2,182 yards with 24 touchdowns and just five interceptions. He also led the team in rushing with 384 yards and six touchdowns on 93 carries.

"Well first we're going to have to stop their quarterback, (Patrick) Angle," Indians' defensive lineman Alex Krigbaum said. "They also have some really good receivers. We're going to have make a few adjustments on defense."

The Chieftains have a trio of good receivers in Zach McDaniel, Mason Mays and Jordan Rutter, all of whom have at least 40 receptions and five touchdowns.

Hoping to slow Logan's offense is an Indians defense led by linemen Sedarrian Booth and Krigbaum, linebackers Daniel Bailey, Zack Hitchens and Ryan Rose and backs Conrad Rosch and Nathaniel Adkins.

Canal Winchester has allowed an average of 9.1 points per game and has posted three shutouts.

But the Indians have not faced a offense with a passing game this good since they lost o Monroe Lemon-Monroe 47-21 in a Division III regional semifinal two years ago.

"Patrick is an outstanding quarterback for them. He's got good pocket presence and he can move well too," Mauro said. "They do a good job with the passing game, so we need to pressure the passer, trying to get them off rhythm and have some good coverage behind them."

The Logan defense is also solid. The Chieftains have 21 interceptions and have allowed just 23 total points in the first half this season -- none in the first quarter.

"I feel like we don't have much to lose," Krigbaum said. "They have to live up to their expectations, and I feel like we can pull the upset."

One area that might be a concern for Logan is its run defense. The Chieftains have allowed 1,417 yards rushing.

Canal Winchester could look to exploit that with running back Mike Mainella and wide receiver Tyler Thompson. This could also allow Canal Winchester to open up its playbook to include some quarterback draws with backup Drew Black.

Canal Winchester should benefit from playing on the turf field at Logan. Including the loss to Amanda-Clearcreek, the Indians have been stuck playing on wet and muddy fields the last five weeks.

The turf field will allow the Indians to take full advantage of their speed on both sides of the ball.

"We know we won't be in the mud, so that's a plus," Mauro said. "And the field will give our skill guys an opportunity to do what they can do. It's a state-of-the-art facility there, including that turf field, so we're excited to play there and on that surface."

Krigbaum doesn't think there is much of a chance the Indians could sneak up on Logan. Canal Winchester is beginning to make a name for itself with its third playoff appearance in a row.

"I don't think they'll overlook us at all," he said. "They're going to prepare just as hard to play us as we'll prepare for them."