The Muldrow Bulldogs’ playoff scenario is simple: win this week and they’re in the postseason.

Muldrow will be going for its third-straight playoff berth on Friday when the Bulldogs visit Poteau for a crucial meeting in District 4A-4. The winner of the game will secure fourth place, while the loser will miss the playoffs.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Poteau’s Costner Stadium between the 6-3 Bulldogs and 5-3-1 Pirates. Both teams are 3-3 in district play.

Muldrow head coach Kyle Fowler is looking forward to the contest.

“It‘s great to playing for something this late in the season,” said Fowler, whose team is coming off a narrow 20-14 loss to No. 3-ranked Broken Bow.

Poteau is coming off a 27-6 win over Fort Gibson and the Pirates are led offensively by quarterback Garrett Klutts and running back Tim Branch. Klutts has completed 75-of-136 passes for 945 yards and eight touchdowns, while Branch is the top ground-gainer for the Pirates with 884 yards and 11 scores on 140 carries. Derrik Williams had a 100-yard game last week on 17 carries and the junior scored two of the Poteau touchdowns.

“Poteau is playing pretty well. I really like the Branch kid at tailback and Klutts has a strong arm and runs well,” said Fowler. “I like their offensive line too—they can really move people.”

The coach is hoping for another strong effort from the Bulldog defense, which shut out Broken Bow in the first half of last week’s game.

“Defensively, we have to play physical and be smart, play assignment football and we’ll be OK,” said Fowler. “On the other side of the ball, we have to generate some offense, take care of the ball, hold our blocks and hope for the best.”