COLUMBIANA - All season long, Crestview football has proved itself to fans and critics alike, showing that it was the Rebels' year to lay claim to a league title and a deep run in the post season.

Saturday, the Rebels will once again have to prove they are the better team as they take on Kirtland.

Fresh off a 63-7 trashing against playoff experienced South Range last week, the Hornets come into the contest boasting a dangerous offense capable of executing both the pass and the run with perfection, led by senior Ben Madden and his 262 yards rushing and five touchdowns in the playoff opener.

Also adding to the list of attributes for Kirtland is a defense that kept quarterback Jack Dawson at bay with only 147 total yards offense, forcing three interceptions. Faced with the facts that the team he'll face this week is one of the best in the playoffs, head coach Paul Cusick isn't worried about how his team will perform come game time.

"You can't look at scores and focus on what it's going to be for your team," Cusick said. "Looking at the game film, South Range had a kind of snowball effect with what was happening on the field. If you and your team start looking at what happened on film, it comes to a point that you can't convince the kids."

Kirtland's domination of opponents has not only been limited to the multi-dimensional functionality of its field general, but the Hornets running attack has also thrived off of the legs of Neil Penko. The senior back combined with Madden to add two more scores off of 110 yards on the ground.

When faced with the information at hand, Cusick prefers to look at the whole picture instead of an individual player.

"We're going to have to worry about everything," Cusick said. "The quarterback's (Madden) not just doing things by himself, our defense will focus on everyone. We have to step up and make plays, limiting what they can do on offense. We have to control the line of scrimmage and be physical, just sticking with what we've been able to do well during the second half of the season. If we do that, we'll be ok."

Crestview has been no stranger to tough matchups as the seasons progressed, racking up wins over Monroe Central to begin the year and rival South Range to post a 9-1 record with the only loss coming in double overtime against Columbiana. A team's offense can only function as well as the offensive line lets them and for Crestview, that factor has worked like a well-oiled machine all season long allowing key standouts to make their mark in the stat sheets.

Running back Corey Hill has made sure that his last year suiting up for the black and gold is a memorable one, racking up 2,040 yards on the season and 27 touchdowns with 227 yards coming from last week's 41-12 victory over Waynesdale. Not to be overshadowed by his counterpart, quarterback Carter Hill stole part of the limelight with 170 rushing yards to the fray in an otherwise successful night for the Rebels, leaving his season total sitting at 701 yards on the ground off of 108 carries. Not limiting himself on just a ground game, the sophomore has tallied up 911 yards and 12 touchdowns with his arm.

But with Cusick, stats take a back seat to skills presented on field.

"The big thing is we have to stay consistant." Cusick said. "We've been able to stay consistent all season long and make plays down field because of our offensive line. If we can do that on Saturday, we're going to have a good night. I'm just hoping that we can come out and continue playing physical football and limit big plays."

Crestview and Kirtland kick off at Niles Bo Rein Stadium at 7 p.m. Saturday.