Unioto has made an impressive turnaround this season.

Clinton-Massie has taken a major step back.

The two teams meet Friday night in Chillicothe in the opening round of the Division IV Region 16 playoffs. The game will be held at Unioto High School. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Unioto was 4-6 last season and missed the playoffs. In 2021, the Falcons were completing a 14-1 season with the school’s third state football championship.

Going in to Friday’s game, the heavily-favored Unioto squad is 9-1 while Clinton-Massie, who has not missed the playoffs since 2001, comes in at 5-5.

Massie head coach Dan McSurley said starting quarterback Keegan Lamb will be a game-time decision. He went out of last week’s win over Wilmington on the first possession of the game. Jack Elkins took over and engineered a 28-7 triumph.

“Really happy with how Jack Elkins came in as a backup role,” the CM coach said.

Overall, McSurley said there were numerous freshmen who played a big part in last week’s win, mainly on special teams which included a key fake punt.

“In all, it was great complimentary football in all three phases,” he said.

McSurley said the Sherman Tanks, who come in as the 4 seed compared to Massie’s 13 seed, are “really well-coached and very fundamentally sound. They really like to run the ball and have a couple of receivers that will keep you honest. Have never played the Tanks before, so we’re looking forward to a different playoff environment.”

Unioto senior wide receiver Maddox Fox has broken the school record for career receiving yards and career touchdowns this season. He is currently second in the conference with 877 total receiving yards, second in total receptions with 46 and leads the conference with 12 touchdown receptions

Unioto’s only loss this season is to Scioto Valley Conference champion and 10-0 Zane Trace in Week Seven

Newton Hoops is the quarterback and has a younger brother Blake on the team. His dad Matt is the head coach

Other key players to watch out for are Matt Griffin and Corbin Demint, both senior running backs. Unioto likes to split their offense pretty evenly between pass and rush, so Demint and Griffin will likely get plenty of handoffs