Waterford’s Colten Jones, right, carries the ball for a big gain during last week’s playoff win over Fairbanks. (Photo by Patricia Miller)

WATERFORD — It would’ve been easy to count out Waterford prior to the 2024 season.

Despite the Wildcats being a perennial playoff team and TVC Hocking contender, the program faced a big challenge moving up to Division VI this year. They also had to take on one of the toughest schedules in program history, which included three Division V schools plus Fort Frye, Caldwell, Eastern and Trimble.

Even with all those challenges, Waterford found itself back in the playoffs with an 8-2 record. The Wildcats even earned a home game in the first round and handled a tough draw in Fairbanks.

That sets up arguably the most anticipated game in Washington County history — Waterford visits Fort Frye at 7 p.m. Friday in the regional quarterfinals.

“There’s a lot of buzz in the air for sure,” said Waterford head coach Eric McCutcheon. “Everybody knows it’s a big game. We played really well through the season to earn the right to get to the playoffs. We won our first-round game and even got to host, which is pretty cool for Division VI. We’re proud of that. We knocked off Fairbanks to get to move on to round two, to week 12, and it just happens to be the team across the river.”

There’s no secrets between these two schools. They play every year — though never twice until now. Fort Frye has won every meeting since 2008, but the past is the past and a win Friday night would erase a lot of bad memories for the Wildcats.

“Our kids are excited for the opportunity,” McCutcheon said. “Fort Frye is a very, very good football team. They do very well in the playoffs every year. Their coaches got them playing good football, and we’re going to have to play our best football.”

During the regular season, Fort Frye bested Waterford 35-7 back in week four. The Wildcats caught fire after that and have rattled off seven straight wins since.

“Just playing better as a team,” McCutcheon said. “All three phases, we’ve gotten better each week. Our kids are playing faster, playing loose. Everybody’s been working extremely hard in practice and taking strides every week. It’s pretty cool to see them grow as a team from where we started to where we are now.”

Hayden Jones leads Waterford offensively with 1,313 yards and 20 touchdowns on 205 carries.

The sophomore signal-caller is also 71 for 133 passing for 847 yards, five TDs and eight interceptions. Jones had 109 yards on 13 carries in the first meeting. His older brother, Colten, has added 1,119 yards and 15 TDs on 142 carries this fall.

The key, though, will be whether or not Waterford’s defense can solve Fort Frye’s rushing attack. Whether it’s Clayton Miller and Tyce Beardsley on the wings, Kainan Bradford up the middle or Grady Hesson in the passing game, the Cadets can do damage in multiple ways.

“They’re very hard to defend,” McCutcheon said. “You can study it, you can run it in practice, you can go through everything on paper, but it’s so hard to stop because the timing has to be perfect. Their guards pull, their tackles are extremely well coached and disciplined. The quarterback does a good job with the fakes and the stuff he needs to do to keep the defense on their toes.”

McCutcheon’s hope is that the Wildcats’ journey to get to this point will have them ready for the kind of environment they’ll be playing in Friday.

“We’ve won some big ball games, and we’ve got a big one this week,” McCutcheon said. “We’re going to prepare as hard as we can and hopefully play extremely hard for our fans and community. The atmosphere ought to be rocking. The kids are excited, the coaches, the community and the football fans in the county. It should be a fun night.”