In MAIS eight-man football, it’s not uncommon for teams to face an opponent they’ve already matchup up against during the regulars season.

That’s not the case this week for Kemper Academy, which hosts Franklin Academy out of Winnsboro, La., for its opening-round postseason contest. In fact, this will mark the first meeting ever between the two schools, Rams head coach Pete McCleskey said.

“We’ve never played Franklin,” McCleskey said. “We’ve looked at a couple of their films, and they’re big up front with a really quick quarterback and a running back that’s 6-foot-4, 190 pounds. I understand the offense they’re running, and we’re just going to have to suck it up, play good defense and not have any turnovers. We’re going to have to outscore them, because they’re going to score.”

More specifically, McCleskey said Franklin Academy is predominantly a running team that likes to use its size to its advantage. The Rams (8-0), by contrast, will have to use their speed to their advantage, McCleskey pointed out.

“They run the ball 90 percent of the time,” McCleskey explained. “They’re going to come at you and try to control the ball. We need to force some turnovers and score when we get our hands on the ball. Their quarterback is the kid we have to stop — if we can’t contain him, we’ll be in trouble.”

Right now, McCleskey said he feels good about his team, though he’s not overconfident.

“I’m a little concerned because our schedule has been a little weak,” McCleskey said. “It just depends on how our kids handle a lot better ball team than we’ve seen.”

On the positive side, McCleskey said his team is healthy for the most part after a couple of players have been nursing nagging injuries in recent weeks.

“We’re good,” McCleskey said. “We had one kid with a separated shoulder, Shane Castleberry, who will be in his first game back. I haven’t played him the last two weeks trying to let it head. We had a wide receiver, Quez Cole, get a concussion two weeks ago and he’s back. He was OK last Friday, but I didn’t play him but for a couple of plays. Other than that, I don’t really have anyone hurt.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday.