Out of all the high school football games taking place in the central Ohio in the final week of the season, only one features two undefeated teams.

Canal Winchester will play host to Logan Elm in that matchup, with the winner earning the MSL-Buckeye championship.

The Indians are the defending league champion, but the Braves are first in the Division III, Region 12 computer ratings while Canal Winchester is fifth. Logan Elm has never finished a season undefeated. The last time Canal Winchester accomplished the feat was in 1976.

"We've played in some big games in the past where it's come down to week 10, but it's going to be exciting on Friday night," Canal Winchester coach Phil Mauro said. "We're not going to change our practice scheme at all. The chips have gone up since it's for the league title, but our preparation won't be any different. The playoffs are something you can't control so the only thing we're concerned about is being MSL-Buckeye champs."

Logan Elm has had an incredible turnaround after finishing 0-10 last season when the Indians beat the Braves 17-0 in the final week.

The Braves don't have a large number of seniors, but they have provided good leadership. First-year coach Scott Bartholomew said that getting some wins in the beginning of the season was also a boon to the team.

"I get asked a lot about our turnaround and I think it's really been a lot of things," Bartholomew said. "It's been the good senior leadership as well as the chemistry of the kids and the coaching staff. Once we got a couple wins, the kids really started to believe in each other."

The Braves use a run-based spread offense similar to what Canal Winchester ran last season. They have racked up nearly 2,000 yards rushing behind quarterback Johnnie Brown and running back Cody Cordle. The offensive line is one of the biggest in the area with Chris Spurlock, Jake Hill and Logan Hauserman all weighing in excess of 290 pounds.

Canal Winchester allows 8.5 points per game. Only one team, Lakewood, has scored more than 20 points against the Indians. The defense features linemen Travis Stevenson, Zack Hitchens, Morgan Tucker and Ryan Huff, linebackers Tyler Steube, Harrison Rosch and Ryan Sabin and defensive backs Gerald Mathis, Mike Romanowski and Cory Spelman.

"The guy that makes it all go is Johnnie Brown. He's having a tremendous year," Mauro said. "He's continued to grow and mature and get better. He's a Seth White, a Dorian Curry-type of athlete who is multi-talented."

On defense, Logan Elm operates out of a 4-3 formation that emphasizes preventing big plays. They Braves don't rely much on blitzing. They allow 12.8 points per game.

The Indians will try to get rolling early behind running backs Dom Cosby and Mike Mainella as well as quarterback Justin Whitlatch.

Benefiting Logan Elm is the Braves' strong play in the second half, particularly the fourth quarter. In last Friday's 42-14 win over Bloom-Carroll, the Braves were tied at 14 entering the fourth quarter.
Overall, the Braves have outscored their foes 100-20 in the fourth quarter.

"One thing you look at is, they're the defending league champs so they have that big-game experience," Bartholomew said.

"I think they're just a solid football team. They've got a good defense, a good offense and great depth, so there's no doubt we'll have to play our best game of the year to win."

"Always in big games, protecting the football is huge," Mauro said. "We need to win the turnover battle and take advantage of our scoring opportunities. We need to come away with points in the red zone to win this game."