After back-to-back years of being state champions, Chardon Football comes home to begin their postseason with playoffs against Akron East this Friday.

The team had a perfect winning streak in both state championship years, with 31 games across both seasons. This year the team has continued to fight hard. Their streak broke in September against Riverside where the team lost 21-7. Since then, however, they have been back to winning every week with a record of 8-1.

“Our kids believe in what we do. Two years of success, kids don’t question what you tell them to do,” said Coach Mitch Hewitt. 

Healthwise, the team has stayed mostly intact with only one starter injury, Alex Kisely. He played as the defensive end and the defensive tackle until his injury at Kenston, but he will have his first game back tonight against Akron East.

“Everything has to align, first being health,” said Hewitt.

The team is still grinding forward with their key players Andrew Bruce, Trey Liebhardt, Cooper Felger, Heath Fletchik and Alex Henry, all of whom are still healthy to play. The team has also been working this season with a limited senior class of only 14.

Looking forward to the rest of the season, the Hilltoppers have to go through four rounds of playoffs to advance past regionals. Akron East will play the team first this Friday. They have a 6-4 record this year but only a two-game win streak. If Chardon wins against East, the Toppers will play against either Gilmour Academy or Geneva, depending on which team wins their first-round game. Gilmour maintains a 9-1 record, and Geneva has a 7-3 record this year.

“A lot of talent, a lot of speed,” said Hewitt regarding the matchup against Akron. “A team that’s not intimidated by our past success.”

Regarding the second round, the coach has chosen not to speculate on what will occur between Geneva and Gilmour. He will wait and see what happens.

Although Chardon had two years of great success, Hewitt also expressed that fans and others need to understand that it is a new year without some of the old players.

“We have a fanbase that expects a long, deep postseason,” said Hewitt. “They expect a blowout.”

Starting this year, they have introduced two new offensive line coaches, Coach Cam and Coach Mack, to the team. This came after their longtime offensive coach, Coach O retired after years of service to the program. Hewitt believes it has been a smooth transition for the players.

“It’s infallible if executed correctly,” said Hewitt. “The foundation is what it is.”