After 9-0 regular season, Seneca starts postseason vs. battle-tested Winnebago

When the Seneca Fighting Irish take their home field Friday to open the Class 3A playoffs against Winnebago, it won’t matter that Seneca is coming off an undefeated regular season and a Vermilion Valley Football Alliance North conference championship, or that the Indians barely made it into the postseason after a 5-4 regular season and sixth-place finish in the Big Northern Conference.

“We definitely are really happy with the regular season,” Seneca coach Terry Maxwell said. “I don’t think [going undefeated] was a goal we set out to accomplish, but it was definitely something we thought we could achieve.

“Now we’re looking forward to a chance. Everyone’s on even footing once you hit the playoffs. Everyone’s pretty good, and records kind of reset to 0-0.

“The regular season was great, but now we’ve got to move forward and change our mindset.”

Winnebago comes in with a 5-4 mark. It should be noted, however, it is an above-.500 mark the Indians earned playing in a Big Northern Conference that is sending six of its 10 members to the playoffs after a closed, nine-game league loop. Winnebago went 4-0 against teams with losing records and 1-4 against teams with above-.500 marks – the lone win a signature and ultimately season-defining one, 29-25 over six-win Dixon in Week 5.

“It’s so hard to compare, you know, when you don’t have common opponents,” Winnebago coach Mark Helm said, “but we’ve got a lot of respect for [Seneca]. They’ve got a great team, lot of size, do a nice job and don’t make a lot of mistakes.

“It’s going to be tough for us to hang in there, but we’re just excited for another opportunity to play another game, travel down to Seneca and play ‘em.”

When Winnebago has the ball, a mostly balanced I-formation Indians offense featuring speedy RB Supreme Muhammad (approaching 1,000 yards on the season) and QB Alec Weavel (a 1,000-yard passer this season averaging about 15 pass attempts per game) will be going against a Fighting Irish defense that hasn’t allowed a point since a Week 3 win over Salt Fork. That stretch includes five shutouts and a forfeit.

“Our defense is playing really well, really aggressive,” Maxwell said. “[Defensive coordinator Levi] Derber, he does an awesome job. He came to me after last season and said, ‘I think we have the personnel to make this switch [from Seneca’s traditional 4-4 to a 3-4] and consistently have the personnel to fit this mold,’ and I said, ‘I trust you. Go with it.’”

Change-of-pace RB Lucas Cowman and short-yardage man Brandon Wiggan also receive carries for Winnebago, with Kolton Watts and Kaiden Steurer other main receiving targets off a play-action attack.

“We like to run the football,” Helm said, “but we’re not afraid to put it in the air. We like to keep a little balance, and a lot of the time the opponent dictates how much of one or the other you’re going to do.”

When Seneca has the ball, a Winnebago defense led by MLB Will Speltz will have a lot to contend with in a power-T Fighting Irish attack led by RBs Asher Hamby, Braden Ellis and Collin Wright as well as QB Nathan Grant, who can run it and on occasion throw it to targets such as dual TEs Lane Provance and Kysen Klinker. It won’t be completely foreign to the Indians, however, as Helm compares Seneca’s offense to Stillman Valley’s option-heavy wishbone.

A healthy size advantage up front should benefit the Irish, although Maxwell points out the Indians’ linemen “get off the ball really well.”

Kickoff Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Friday Night Drive pick: Seneca