The first round of the 8-Man playoffs is here, and the WACO Warriors will be hitting the road to take on familiar foe Central City to kick things off tonight in a game you can hear on the KCII3 Stream.

Central City will be trying to avenge a Week 0 loss to WACO when they hit their home field tonight. The Wildcats enter the first round of the postseason at 6-3 overall and runners-up of 8-Man District 5 by virtue of a 5-1 district record. Their last action came one week ago when they captured a road victory against Midland 74-39. Senior star Matthew Klostermann did a bulk of the work offensively, throwing for over 30 yards while rushing for over 200 and scoring six times. Josh Lindsey also racked up the rushing yards, accounting for 140 total on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Max Arthur had 10 tackles and a TFL, while Kinnick Weis provided two sacks. Central City turned over the Eagles three times, and Nolan Gates took a kickoff to the house. In the regular season, the Wildcats scored an average of 52.9 points-per-game, and gave up just shy of 29. Central City is 30/60 through the air for 591 yards, five touchdowns, and four picks. The Wildcat ground game has been a machine. On 383 carries, the ‘Cats have piled up 3,168 yards and 56 touchdowns. Defensively, the Wildcats have 427-and-a-half tackles, 61 for loss, 31-and-a-half sacks, seven fumble recoveries, and six interceptions. Central City owns three kickoff returns, and have also returned a punt this season.

The WACO Warriors ride into the 8-Man playoffs as runners-up of 8-Man District 6 with a 7-1 overall and 4-1 district play record after their victory over the English Valleys Bears two weeks ago by a final of 60-12. Seniors Clayton Miller and Louden Huisenga combined for eight total offensive touchdowns on the night, with Huisenga rushing for 115 yards on 11 carries. Receivers Isaac Rich and Gage Samo hauled in a touchdown apiece. Joel Meyer was the leading WACO defender, recording six-and-a-half stops, two-and-a-half in the backfield. The Warriors turned over the Bears four times. Miller added to his all-around resume with a kickoff return score, and Niles Reichenbach booted a 23-yard field goal. Entering the playoffs, WACO puts up 51.5 points-per-game and gives up 31.4. Through the air, WACO is 96/162 for 1,493 yards, 22 touchdowns and six interceptions. The Warriors have 1,342 yards rushing on 236 carries and have scored 31 times. Defensively, WACO has 360-and-a-half stops, 64-and-a-half in the backfield, 20 sacks, six fumble recoveries, eight picks, and three safeties. The Warriors have housed five kickoff returns, own one punt return TD, are 2/5 on field goals, and 42/50 on PAT’s this season.

WACO Head Coach Chad Edeker joined us on the latest edition of the KCII Radio Coaches Corner to talk about his team’s preparations for familiar foe Central City. “It’s sort of a blessing here in the fact that going into the playoffs we can get a little healthier. We should be pretty healthy. We’ll get into practice this week and we’ll hit some. Just keeping the kids mentally focused a couple days this week, and see how we go,” Edeker said.

In the Varsity Bound era, WACO owns the all-time series between these two teams 2-0 dating back to 2022, and won their week 0 matchup with the ‘Cats by a final of 51-36 on August 23rd. 

You can hear all of the playoff action live tonight between Central City and WACO streaming exclusively online at KCIIRadio.com on the KCII3 Stream beginning with the pregame show at 6:30, and kickoff at 7 p.m. from Central City.