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After the Canal Winchester High School football team's 17-0 win over Logan Elm last Friday, coach Phil Mauro rounded up the team and fans who had taken the field to celebrate.

Mauro briefly discussed the game, then paused and said, "Now we can start talking about the P word."

"P" stands for playoffs, which the Indians before this season hadn't advanced to since 1988. They secured their spot with a 35-19 win over Hamilton Township on Oct. 19, but Mauro kept the focus on Logan Elm in the last week of the regular season.

The Indians, who finished the regular season 9-1 overall and won the MSL-Buckeye Division at 7-1, earned the No. 2 seed in Division III, Region 12 behind Cincinnati Indian Hill.

Canal Winchester will play host to No. 7 seed Germantown Valley View on Friday. The Spartans finished the regular season 5-5 overall but they played three playoff teams, beating Indian Hill 24-21 on Aug. 31 and Monroe Lemon-Monroe 24-14 on Sept. 7 and losing to Eaton 34-19 on Oct. 19. The Spartans only played one team one with a losing record.

Valley View has advanced at least to a state semifinal six times since the Indians' last playoff appearance, winning championships in 1994, 1996 and 1997. Valley View coach Jay Niswonger has 207 victories, making him one of six coaches in Ohio with 200 or more wins.

"They have a rich tradition," Mauro said. "We've got a lot of respect for that program down there. They're synonymous with the state playoffs."

Valley View runs a similar offense to Teays Valley and Hamilton Township but quarterback John Day is a better passer. In a 38-13 come-from-behind win over Brookville last Friday, Day completed 15 of 19 passes for 158 yards and four touchdowns and added 76 yards rushing on 13 carries. The primary running back for the Spartans is Travis Dalton.

The Spartans will start out in a 4-4 defense but have to ability to operate out of 3-5 and six-man fronts as well.

"Offensively, we have to do a good job adjusting to the different fronts we see," Mauro said.

The challenge in taking on a perennial playoff team is big for the Indians, but they are undaunted.

"The game is still 48 minutes," Mauro said. "We want to get into week 11 and hopefully beyond."

"We have the highest expectations," quarterback Travis Stevenson said. "We know it's been a while since we've been there, but we don't just want to go in there and roll over. We want a state title, and that's what we're in the playoffs to do."