SHADYSIDE — In athletics sometimes it’s not how you start but how you finish.

That’s a trend that Shadyside is hoping continues Friday night when it heads south to Hannibal for a rematch with rival River. The Tigers (5-3) started the season with back-to-back losses to Division V rivals Martins Ferry (22-16) and Bellaire (20-13), but have reeled off five wins in their last six outings, including a 27-25, nod over the Pilots three weeks ago.

A lot more is at stake this week, however. A berth in the Ohio Division VII, Region 27 championship game is on the line when the No. 7 Tigers and third-seeded Pilots (6-2) clash on the artificial surface at Martin Flannery Field. Kickoff is set for 7.

“I wish the game was here (at Fleming Field) because teams are more comfortable playing at home. Maybe that’s why the oddsmakers usually give the home team a 3-point advantage,” veteran Shadyside head coach Mark Holenka said.

Shadyside advanced to this point by routing Frontier (48-14) in its playoff debut before upsetting No. 2 East Knox (14-0) last week in a game that endured a lengthy weather delay in the third quarter.

“They are a pretty good football team on both sides of the ball,” Holenka noted. “Defensively they like to blitz so we must be able to block up front and handle the pressure. Turnovers could be a big swing factor.

“I thought we played well for the first two-and-a-half quarters in the first meeting, but then they took over. We can’t let that happen again.”

Shadyside enjoyed the return of all-Ohio tailback Wyatt Reiman last week after the junior missed a few games with an injury. He ran for 175 yards on 33 carries last week. His 44-yard TD scamper in the fourth quarter sealed the deal. He has rushed for 855 yards and scored 11 touchdowns on 151 carries. He is also a capable receiver out of the backfield, averaging 20.3 yards on seven receptions.

Reiman is joined in the backfield by senior fullback Jacob Visnic, who has run for 402 yards and reached the end zone eight times on 73 totes. He gave the Tigers the early lead last week with a 4-yard run. He averages 24 yards a catch on six receptions, scoring once.

Junior quarterback Rhys Francis has completed 48.3 percent of his passes (58-120) for 1,058 yards and half-a-dozen touchdowns. He has thrown five INTs. In addition he has a pair of rushing touchdowns.

His favorite receiver is classmate Mason VanNest who has hauled in two dozen catches for 539 yards and four six-pointers. He averages 22.5 yards per catch and scored on a two-point run following Visnic’s touchdown last week.

Other receiving options include seniors Jordan Joseph and Alec Shepherd and freshman Karl Tsoras. Tsoras has seven catches, Shepherd six and Joseph five. Joseph has a TD grab.

Providing holes to run through and protection to pass are senior center Logan Crozier, juniors Gage Joseph and Kris Tsoras at the guards and senior Jalob Honeywell and junior Ryan Florence at the tackles. Senior Mason Geraud was lost for the season in the opening loss at Martins Ferry with a knee injury.

Defensively, the Tigers are led by their linebacking corps of Visnic, Reiman and freshman Andrew Osman. Florence, Gage Joseph, Kris Tsoras and sophomore Andrew Brown also in the mix along the front line.

Jordan Joseph, VanNest, Shepherd and Francis head up the secondary.