After a lopsided 47-20 victory by visiting South last Friday, the OHSAA's computer spit out an unusual occurrence: On Saturday, the previous week's opponents face off again in the first round of the Division I state playoffs.

South (8-2) plays host to Liberty (7-3) just eight days after their first meeting this season.

"My feeling is that you don't get many second opportunities in life," Michael said of the Region 3 quarterfinal. "I think we're fortunate 1, to be in the playoffs and 2, to get another shot at a team. We're all really excited."

South certainly seemed to have the upper hand in the first meeting. The Wildcats forced five turnovers and outgained Liberty 590-312 in total yards. South tailback Jayshan Jackson set school records for yards in a game (282) and yards on a single carry (95).

But the consensus for both teams was that last weekend's game was not an indication the rematch would be equally one-sided.

"We definitely won't look past them," said Murtada Jabbie, a defensive lineman for South. "We know they're a real good team with a good offense and a good defense."

Jabbie pointed to a sloppy first-half performance by South as evidence that South must improve. Liberty forced South into three first-half turnovers and took advantage of short fields to score 20 points by the break.

South had allowed more than 20 points just one time prior to last week.

"We need to minimize our mistakes and take better care of the ball," coach Rocky Pentello. "We were fortunate they had some turnovers also."

Liberty was particularly hurt by big plays. South had three offensive plays of at least 45 yards and returned an interception 51 yards.

Liberty coach Steve Hale talked about the need to minimize such game-changing moments.

"We need to come back and work on our fundamentals," Hale said. "When kids make plays like that on you, it's usually someone out of position or someone taking a bad angle. Those are the little things you work on so that a 90-yard gain is a 30-yard gain and you are still able to line up on defense the next play."

Hale said the program was proud of its sixth consecutive playoff appearance, particularly since this year marks the first time Liberty competed in Division I.

"When you lose by 27 points, saying that the teams are perfectly matched isn't the right thing to say," Hale said. "We have to play really, really well to win, but it's not mission impossible."

This is South's first playoff appearance since 2006. That year it was also the fourth seed in Region 3, losing at home to Dublin Coffman in the first round.

•Though the OHSAA does not specifically track such occurrences, it is not unprecedented for week 10 opponents to play again the following weekend. This year, it is also happening in Region 8, where Cincinnati Turpin and Anderson face one another Friday for the second consecutive weekend.

Historically there have been a number of instances of the back-to-back meetings. In 1995, Youngstown rivals Cardinal Mooney and Ursuline met both in the regular season finale and first round of the playoffs, with Mooney winning both games. In 2007, Defiance Tinora beat Sherwood Fairview two weekends in a row in Division IV. Last year Anna and Marion Local met in weeks 10 and 11 and split the meetings.