The 8-1 Annawan-Wethersfield Titans, seeded fourth in Class 1A, will meet 13th-seeded Deer Creek-Mackinaw in their first-round playoff game Saturday afternoon.
And while the Chiefs come into Wethersfield Memorial Stadium with a 5-4 record and a 13 seed, those numbers could be a little misleading.
All four of the teams that beat Dee-Mack are themselves in the playoffs — Downs Tri-Valley, whose perfect 9-0 record earned them a no. 4 seed; Leroy, an 8-1 team and a 5 seed; Heyworth, seeded eighth with a 7-2 record; and 11 seed Eureka, who was 5-4 on the season in Class 3A.
Dee-Mack’s most impressive win of the season was a 46-0 demolishing of winless Tremont. They also earned a 16-0 win over another team in the playoffs, 6-3 Gibson City Melvin-Sidney, in the second week of the season.
The Chiefs’ season started off 2-0, with wins over GCMS and Chicago Academy Kelvyn Park.
Then came a four-game losing streak, to the four playoff teams.
They finished strong with wins over Tremont, El Paso-Gridley and Ridgeview-Lexington.
Deer Creek-Mackinaw is a run-based team, piling up 1,606 yards on the ground and 634 through the air.
The Titans’ only loss, in the second week of the season, was by a score of 21-20 to undefeated conference foe Stark County. The Rebels host 5-4 Princeville Friday night.
The Titans opened their season with a 28-0 win over Astoria/VIT. After the Stark County game they reeled off seven straight wins: 29-20 over Rushville-Industry, 35-0 over Monmoth United, 42-0 over Abingdon-Avon, 42-0 over Havana, 33-15 over then-undefeated Farmington, 28-6 over playoff team ROWVA-Williamsfield and 49-6 over Princeville.
Kickoff for Saturday’s game is at 1 p.m., with the gates opening at 11:30 a.m.
