The Exira-EHK Spartans and the Bedford Bulldogs will meet for the second time this season on Friday night in the 8-man High School Football Playoffs.  This meeting figures to be very different from the first contest that was played in Week 2 on September 9th with Bedford prevailing 40-6.  Exira-EHK was without multiple key players in that contest and Bedford Bulldog Co-Head Coach Matt Ambrose knows the Spartans will be a different team this time around.

Bedford has gotten great offensive production throughout the season from a Senior and a Freshman in the backfield. Senior Running Back Sam McMillin has carried the ball 177 times for 1,469 yards and 22 touchdowns this season for the Bulldogs.  Freshman Quarterback Brennen Sefrit was thrown into the mix early in the season due to Joel King going down with a broken collarbone and he has taken full advantage of the opportunity, rushing for 406 yards and 7 scores and throwing for 347 yards and 3 more scores.  Exira-EHK Head Coach Tom Petersen thinks his team has improved defensively throughout the season and will be ready to slow down both players this time.

Exira-EHK is lead by an experienced backfield. Running Back Drew Buckholdt has been a longtime stalwart for the Spartans and has done it again this season rushing for 677 yards and 13 touchdowns and he also leads the team in tackles.  Senior Quarterback Connor Westergaard stepped into that position after Week 4 and has been a big part of the ground game with 529 yards and 12 touchdowns.  Buckholdt and Westergaard rack up a lot of the stats but Coach Petersen said Senior Fullback Cole Madsen is a big part of that.

Bedford expects a physical contest and Coach Ambrose knows they need to get things done up front to try to slow the Spartans down. He said it is going to take a strong effort physically and mentally to come out on top.

We’ll have coverage of the Spartans and Bulldogs on Friday night on KJAN! Join Chris Parks and Mike Smith on the call on AM1220, FM101.1, online at kjan.com, and on the KJAN mobile app. Our coverage will begin with our final edition of our pick ’em show Who’s Gonna Win? at 5:30pm, followed by Pre-Game at 6:00pm, and Kickoff at 7:00pm in Bedford.

Due to IHSAA rules will will not be allowed to provide a video stream for postseason games.