There will be a since of familiarity on Friday night for the Otis-Bison High School football team.
The Cougars host Thunder Ridge of Kensington in an Eight-Man Division-II state playoffs game at 7.
It will be the second meeting of the two teams this season, with the first occurring on Sept. 23, a 44-18 Longhorns win.
“It gives you that familiarity with the team,” Otis-Bison head coach Travis Starr said. “It goes for both sides. I think its nice to have that in the playoffs. Of course, it’s just nice to still be playing in the playoffs.”
Up until Saturday’s game against Ashland, a 32-28 win for Thunder Ridge, the 18 points Otis-Bison scored was the most scored against the Longhorns.
In fact, after the Cougars visit to Kensington, the Longhorns had six straight shutouts.
The game against the Longhorns was the only game that Otis-Bison has thrown for more yards (107) than they rushed (73).
Starr said that was largely due to some injuries sustained in the game.
“Dylan (Wissman) was knocked out of that game, so we had to pass the ball a little more,” Starr said. “They were able to key in on (Patrick) Piper a little more.”
Wissman suffered a concussion in the game.
Offensive lineman Devon King and wide receiver Matt Crotinger also received injuries that removed them from the game. King left with a knee injury, and Crotinger separated his shoulder.
The Cougars were forced to play some sophomores in the final half of the game.
Something Starr said helped the team in the long run.
“Those guys had to miss a couple of games,” Starr said. “We had two little sophomores come in off the bench for us. They missed some tackles and some assignments, but they learned. It got their feet wet, got them some game experience. I think our bench is a little stronger because of it. Those sophomores played a few downs for us last week against Victoria.”