It is safe to say that the revenge game that Centralia fans were hoping for is here as the Panthers are set to host Lyndon Friday night in the sectional round of the Class 1A playoffs.

Last season, Centralia (8-2) beat Lyndon easily in the regular season 48-17 before the Tigers returned the favor and ended the Panthers season 26-14 in this same game.

Earlier this season Centralia again got the best of Lyndon beating the Tigers 26-0 but now is the one that counts, and you can’t help but think revenge isn’t on the mind of the Panthers.

Despite a loss two weeks ago, Centralia enters this quarterfinal matchup following one of their best wins of the year in a 41-0 beat down of Valley Heights last week.

The Panthers got up 21-0 over the Mustangs in the first quarter and added 20 more points in the second half while holding Valley Heights to just 61 total yards of offense. Ethan McNally continued to lead the offense as he has all season rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for 85 yards and two more scores with each going to Presly Bowers. Jarod Blaha added 64 yards and a score while Drew Gibbs also ran for a score.

On the season McNally had led the charge rushing for just over 1,000 yards with 19 touchdowns averaging 113 yards per game while adding 770 passing yards with eight touchdowns compared to just two interceptions. Blaha has added 625 yards on the ground with five touchdowns this season while Bowers and Gibbs have combined for seven of the eight touchdown receptions.

Defensively the Panthers are allowing just 15 points per game and have allowed just 13 points in the fourth quarter all season. Centralia allows just 208 yards per game and have racked up 19 turnovers through the nine games led by Bowers who has collected six interceptions on the year.

Lyndon meanwhile is coming off a 44-33 upset of previously No. 5-ranked Wabaunsee last week where the Tigers allowed just 26 rushing yards and picked off a pair of passes.

The Tigers did give up 275 yards through the air and three touchdowns but made the two big plays on defense and protected the football to preserve the win. Junior quarterback Darian Massey tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the win while sophomore running back Jalen Massey ran for 172 yards and three scores. Junior Evan Feurborn also ran for 91 yards and a score along with Toby Miller catching both touchdown passes.

On the season Darian Massey has thrown for right at 1,000 yards with 13 touchdowns and six interceptions averaging 111 yards per game while adding 111 yards and five scores on the ground. Jalen Massey leads the Tigers on the ground with just over 750 yards this season with seven touchdowns averaging around 84 yards per game with two games over 100 yards. Evan Feuerborn has added 303 yards and five more scores, while Ethen Ramey and Xavier Cross are each over 100 yards with seven combined scores.

This game marks the fifth meeting between the two schools since 2004 with both teams holding two wins in that span.

Centralia is no stranger to deep playoff runs after winning it all in 2019 the Panthers have won four state championships since 2009.

The winner of this game will get the winner of No. 1-ranked Olpe and Jeff County North in the sub-state round next week.

Friday’s sectional game is scheduled to kick off at 7 pm in Centralia with live radio coverage on 103.9 KNZA.