Tribe to meet familiar opponent

The Sacred Heart Indians open the playoffs versus Sacred Heart Muenster in the area round of the TAPPS Division IV playoffs at Robinson High School Friday night. Kickoff time is 6 o’clock.

The Tigers (8-3) advanced by beating Tomball Rosehill Christian, 34-7, last week. The Indians defeated Rosehill, 42-12, in the season opener

This will be the ninth meeting between the Indians and Tigers, the last in 2019. The Indians hold a 6-2 edge in the series.

The Tigers beat the Indians, 42-0, in the state finals in 2003 and the teams have met four times in the semifinals.

“SH Muenster is an excellent football team and they are 8-3 for a reason,” Indian head coach Alex Seydler said. “Their biggest strength as a team is that they play with extreme effort and intensity on every single play. They don’t take any plays off

“Offensively, they are going to be run heavy. They love the GT and run it frequently. It’s going to be essential for us to contain their running attack and not allow them to control the ball and the clock. First down will be extremely important, we need to be able to put them behind schedule. If we can win first down as a defense consistently, it’s going to give us a much better chance to have success”

“Defensively, they are going to run a 4-3 for the most part,” Seydler said. “Their defense is excellent, they play hard, fast, and fly around. They come off the ball with great force. It’s going to be important for us offensively to stay patient and maintain our composure because they are going to make us earn our yards. We are going to have to stay the course and consistent execution is going to be the key.”

The Indians welcome back quarterback Andrew Steffek, who was injured in the St. Paul game Oct. 13. Hudson Kutac filled in ably in his absence.