In a battle of 10-1 teams, seventh-ranked Central travels to Mayes County on Friday night as the Tigers take on the No. 11 Salina Wildcats in the second round of the Class A playoffs.

Kickoff at Salina, which is located about 10 miles west of Pryor on State Highway 20, is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Central came-from-behind in the final minute to defeat Wayne 22-21 in its first-round playoff game at Tiger Field on Friday, but Salina needed no last-second heroics as the Wildcats beat Hominy 33-8.

Salina’s only loss this season was a 28-20 district setback at Foyil in Week 9. The Tigers stopped Foyil 21-14 at Tiger Field in their season opener.

“They’re big, and they probably have the second best defense we’ve faced this year, ” Central head coach Wade Couch said. “Talihina is probably No. 1 and Salina is 1A. They’re awfully good on defense.”

The Wildcats are District A-8 champions and have allowed an average of 12.5 points per game.

“They run a 3-5-3, and it seems like they have 15 guys around the football,” said Couch. “They suffocated Hominy.”

Four of Salina’s key defensive players are defensive tackle/nose guard Spencer Kingfisher (5-foot-11, 230-pound senior), nose guard Tye Scott (6-4, 324, senior), middle linebacker Ty Stewart (6-0, 220, sophomore) and outside linebacker Weston Williamson (5-11, 175, junior).

“I think Spencer Kingfisher is their best defensive linemen,” remarked Couch. “He is quick and strong and he tackles well. Trying to block Tye Scott is like trying to block a bus. Ty Stewart is a sophomore but he plays like a senior. He’s very physical and does a fantastic job of stopping the run. Weston Williamson is the most technical of their linebackers. He’s very sound, he covers well and he tackles well. They stuffed Hominy and had nine and 10 people around the football. We’ll have our work cut out for us.”

Offensive starters for the Tigers are Dakota Tanner at center, Dillon Chuculate at left guard, Jake Taff at right guard, Jacob Lattimore at left tackle, Cole Dillard at right tackle, Jake Lineberry at left tight end, Joe Gibson at right tight end, Blake Rogers, Panther Cooksey, Cannon Harrison and Brandon Holt at Z, Shade Kutil at quarterback, Alex Taylor at fullback and Ryan Rogers at tailback.

“On offense we have to sustain our blocks,” said Couch. “We were not as good (sustaining blocks) against Wayne as we need to be, so getting on and sustaining our blocks is the No. 1 key for our offense. We also can’t turn the ball over.”

Seven of the Wildcats’ key offensive players are running back Darin Pettit (5-8, 185, senior), quarterback Dillon Manchell (6-1, 160, junior), wide receiver Dalton Daniels (5-9, 155, junior), offensive linemen Kingfisher and Scott and tight ends Stewart and Williamson.

Salina has scored an average of 34.3 points per contest in 2009.

“They line up in the I-formation, and they have one of the best running backs on this side of the state in Darin Pettit,” said Couch. “He’s their spark plug, and he’s big and thick. He looks like a fullback and runs like a tailback. He’s quick and he’s hard to tackle, and he’s run for well over a 1,000 yards season. Dillon Manchell is their quarterback. He’s very adequate and he compliments Pettit very well. They’ll run iso, counters and some draws with him. They like to go to Dalton Daniels when they throw the ball. He’s a very solid route runner and he catches the ball well. They’re huge up front (offensive line) and they have the same guys that I mentioned on defense.”

Pettit has rushed for 2,077 yards and scored 30 touchdowns for the Wildcats.

Central’s defensive starters are Taff at right defensive tackle, Lattimore at left defensive tackle, Dillard at left defensive end, Gibson at right defensive end, Ryan Rogers at left linebacker, Taylor at middle linebacker, Lineberry at right linebacker, Blake Rogers at left cornerback, Cooksey at right cornerback, Kutil at left safety and Harrison and Holt at right safety.

Couch mentioned four keys for his defense.

“On defense we have to contain No. 16 (Darin Pettit), and we have to be aware of what Manchell does,” remarked Couch. “We also have to tackle well and read our keys. If we do those four things we’ll have a shot.”