Photo provided by Missy Huck Fort Frye’s Hunter Kesselring (52) wraps up Williamstown’s Rickie Allen during a high school football game earlier this season.

BEVERLY — In 2017, Nelsonville-York knocked Fort Frye out of the playoffs with a 26-20 overtime victory.

At 7 p.m. this Saturday, the two Division VI, Region 23 programs will meet again in a regional quarterfinal matchup. The 9-1 Cadets come in as the top seed in the region while the 8-3 Buckeyes are No. 8.

“Fort Frye is a tall task, as they’ve been the bully in our region for the last couple years,” N-Y head coach Rusty Richards said following his team’s first-round win over Centerburg last week. “We’re the eight seed and they’re the one seed, so we got nothing to lose.”

Nelsonville-York is on an eight-game winning streak after dropping its first three games of the season to three eventual playoff-qualifiers — Trimble, Newark Catholic and Liberty Union.

The Buckeyes rolled past Centerburg last week, 42-9. In that contest, N-Y got 16 carries for 159 yards and three TDs from Hudson Stalder.

QB Drew Carter added 68 yards and a score on the ground. On defense, DB Mahki Williams had two interceptions.

“They’re a really good team,” said Fort Frye head coach Eric Huck. “They play really hard and they’re well coached. They run good schemes. I think it’s going to be a tough game.”

The Cadets defeated Northridge 54-6 in the first round. Their only loss this season was a 30-23 setback to Lima Central Catholic.

Fort Frye will be without starting fullback Collin Welsh, who’s been out for most of the season due to injury, but the Cadets are otherwise relatively healthy. Ethan Duskey has taken over the fullback spot in Welsh’s absence and has become an impact player, having contributed 320 rushing yards and six touchdowns.

“Ethan is a heck of an athlete,” Huck said. “He carries the ball well. It’s tough stepping in there and trying to replace someone like Collin, but Ethan has stepped up and done an excellent job. He definitely will still be a part of our offense when Collin comes back.”

Maeson Long has 94 carries, 1,031 yards and 12 TDs. He also has 19 receptions, 255 yards and four TDs. On defense, Long has six interceptions.

Braxton Brown is also a threat in the passing game with 15 catches, 253 yards and five scores.

Owen Brown, who Huck said is close to 100% after dealing with injuries earlier this season, also also get carries –he’s got 57 this season for 527 yards and five TDs.

QB Ian Ellis is 60 for 82 for 861 yards, 12 TDs and three interceptions. He’s also rushed for eight touchdowns.

Defensively, Zaiden Huck leads the team with 75 tackles (eight for a loss). Eli Johnson and Keegan Strode have 67 and 66 tackles, respectively, while both have nine for a loss.

Morgan Smith leads the team with seven sacks, while Kaleb Bailey has six sacks and a team-best 12 tackles for a loss. Hunter Kesselring had three sacks and 10 TFLs, while Caleb Riggs has tallied four sacks and six tackles for a loss.

Ellis (safety), Long and Braxton Brown (corners) make up Fort Frye’s starting secondary on defense, and they’ve been key in neutralizing opposing offenses.

“They’ve been good back there in the secondary,” Huck said. “We have guys who can cover pretty well, and Ian does a nice job of helping in the run game as well. I think as we go those guys are going to be tested. Nelsonville-York has guys who can test them.”

Before the season started, Huck was hesitant to put his quarterback on defense, but it ended being best for the team.

“It started with some injuries,” he said. “We had to put him back there, and he was playing so well we couldn’t take him out. He was too valuable on defense. We try to be careful with him when we can. If we’re up big on a team he’s usually the first guy we pull on defense.”

Fort Frye also will have to stop the ground game against the Buckeyes.

“They’re really good at the run,” Huck said. “They run the ball very well. We’ve got to try to limit the run game as much as possible. They have a good passing game to go along with it.”

On what’s going to be key to coming away with a win Saturday, Huck said “We still have to do what we do with running the football. Those base plays we like to run, we need to be successful at them. The big key is going to be who can control the line of scrimmage.”