MORRISTOWN — Due to a pair of upsets in the first round of the Ohio Division V, Region 17 high school football playoffs last Friday, No. 11 Union Local finds itself at home Friday night in the regional quarterfinals.

The Jets (9-2) did their part last week by rallying past No. 6 Nelsonville-York, 23-13, at Boston Field in Nelsonville for their first postseason nod since 2008, while their opponent — No. 14 Wheelersburg (7-4) knocked off No. 3 Barnesville, 24-7, at Shamrock Stadium.

Kickoff Friday is set for 7 o’clock on the natural grass surface at Jets Field in Morristown. It will be the first time the two schools have met in football.

“Last week was a special moment for a lot of people,” Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson said. “It was special for the players, the coaches and the community to finally get that second playoff win in school history. It was truly a special moment.”

Union Local trailed 13-10 entering the fourth quarter before scoring two touchdowns — the first on offense and the second on defense — to stun the homestanding Buckeyes.

“Our boys battled. We feel we are battle-tested because of our regular season schedule,” Thompson said. “Because of that, we were able to come through at the end.”

“That second half was crazy,” Thompson recalled. “We found ourselves in a third-and-9 situation. (Our quarterback) Isaiah (Tomolonis) rolled to his left, then rolled all the way back across the field before finding Dre Saunders on a huge play to keep that drive alive. We scored (a touchdown) on the very next play.”

Tomolonis kept this time from 5 yards and Jeff Bolon’s kick put the Jets ahead 17-13. Moments later, the lead would increase.

Senior Billy Schumacher stepped in front of a Nelsonville-York pass and took it 34 yards to the house with a little more than four minutes left. The PAT failed, but the lead stood at 23-13.

“Billy really came through with a big play for us,” Thompson acknowledged. “But I can’t credit that senior class enough. Looking back, we had seniors making plays all over the field. They desperately wanted that win.

“We stressed how important week 11 was to the kids,” he added. “We knew that no other team in school history had played a game in week 12. It’s pretty cool to find ourselves here right now.”

Union Local breezed through the first seven weeks of the season before stubbing its toe twice in the final three weeks. However, those two setbacks came to a pair of teams that combined to go 20-0 in St. Clairsville and Barnesville.

When asked if playing Barnesville just two weeks ago would help in preparing for the Pirates this week, Thompson said it could.

“In watching that film, we know how physical Barnesville was and Wheelersburg just handled them. But then again, they’ve handled them over the past few years,” Thompson said. “When it comes to the playoffs, it’s all about matchups. Having that right matchup and being able to get your athletes the ball in space. We’ve got a lot of athletes.

“We understand how talented Wheelersburg is, but we also understand we are a talented team, too,” he continued. “Wheelersburg hasn’t played us before. They’ve never played in Morristown on our grass field, so we have a lot of positives going our way.

“We could sit back and look at how impressive they are and everything, but we’re not. We’re going to focus on us.”

Thompson said playing at home is a benefit for Union Local.

“It’s a huge advantage. Wheelersburg traveled three-plus hours last week and now they have to turn around and make that same trip this week, just a little further down the road,” Thompson said. “They will be playing on a grass field for, I think, the first time this season. We have a ton of confidence playing at home. It’s huge for our guys, especially our seniors to get to play another game on their home field.”

Tomolonis, a senior, has split time with junior Colby Carpenter for most of the season, but Thompson said it was his time to shine last week.

“Credit to both of those kids. They’ve both performed when their number has been called,” the coach praised. “Isaiah was finally healthy this past week and he played well. He’s a senior. He’s ready to show what he can do.

If we need Colby, I know he will be ready to come in and sling it (the ball) around like he does,” Thompson added.

When the Jets do take to the air, Saunders is the main target. He caught a 76-yard TD last week.

“We call him big-play Dre. He does it all. Not only is he a special player that people see during the games, but he’s a special kid off the field, as well,” the head coach lauded. “I want this win Friday night so bad for these guys because of all the hard work they’ve put in, and Dre is one of those guys.”

At the beginning of the season, Thompson and his coaching staff knew the offensive line needed some work.

“Those guys are the unsung heroes of our team,” Thompson stressed. “Coach (Ryan) Kutcher and Coach (Tony) Gregory) have done a fantastic job with those kids. They were at the start of the year, quote, unquote, supposed to be our weak link. They’ve been nothing but the driving force to our success. We are so proud of those guys because everything starts with them up front.”

The center is sophomore Logan Webb, while the guards are senior Mason Porter and junior Konnar Kovacs. The tackles are seniors Nick Grob and Daniel Goodson. Senior Logan Hess is the tight end.

“We need to get off to a fast start Friday night,” Thompson said. “Every game we’ve won this year we’ve got off to a fast start. We’ve had good opening drives.”

Sophomore tailback Brody Perzanowski enjoyed another 1,000-plus season on the ground. He had 95 yards on 22 carries last week after breaking the 200-yard barrier against Barnesville with a pair of long runs in the second half.

Senior Peyton Causby is the blocking back.

Defensively, Causby led the team with 10.5 tackles last week from his outside linebacker position. He is joined by junior Ryader Gainer on the other side as Hess mans the middle. The ends are Goodson and sophomore Brody Kerns, with Kovacs and senior Steven Martin at the tackles. The corners are Saunders and senior Sean Alkire, while Schumacher is the strong safety and junior Max Duncan the free safety.

Jeff Bolon has come on strong as the Jets placekicker. He booted a 31-yard field goal to get the scoring started last week.

The Pirates dominated the Shamrocks from the get-go. They ran for 200-plus yards behind a line that includes three 300-pounders, a 250-pounder and a 225-pounder.

“They are mammoth,” Thompson said of Wheelersburg’s line.

Quarterback Braylon Rucker is the offensive key as everything surrounds him. His ball handling skills fooled the Barnesville defense, resulting in several big plays.

Tailback Elijah Brown has speed and quickness.

Defensively, the Pirates align in a 4-2-5 scheme, with the same three 300-pounders anchoring a line that held Barnesville to 1 yard rushing at halftime.

Kicker Cooper Heimbach booted a 46-yard field goal in the second quarter.