The two teams will be meeting for the second time this season when the contest kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Grizzly Field.
Third-ranked Gans defeated Watts 28-6 back on Oct. 1 and that non-district victory started the Grizzlies' current six-game winning streak. Those wins pushed Gans' record to 9-1 overall and gave the Grizzlies second- place in District B-4 with a 7-1 mark.
Gans head coach Trent Holt said he has mixed feeling about playing Watts for the second time, but he is confident heading into the game.
"It has its pluses and its minuses. We know that we can beat them because we have, but it's hard to beat a team twice. They have a pretty good football team and we'll have to play pretty well to beat them, but at least we're familiar with them," said Holt. "We feel pretty good about it. I think if we play our best ballgame, we'll win."
In the first meeting, Donnie Alls ran for 165 yards and scored on touchdown runs of 77 and 58 yards to lift the Grizzlies to the win. Watts stayed close, though, and a long pass play had the Engineers within 8-6 at halftime.
Holt said Watts looks about the same on offense, but the Engineers' defense has started using some four-man fronts after playing a 3-2 in the week five game at Gans.
Since playing Gans, the Engineers won three out of their last five games to capture third-place in District B-3. They enter the playoffs with an overall record of 5-5.
Running back Filberl Labitad is the top rusher for Watts. The junior has run for 1,234 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. Chooch Daugherty has run for another 700 yards. Quarterback Ray Ward, who was knocked out of the first Gans game with an injury, has since returned to the line-up and has accounted for over 700 yards of offense.
"He throws the ball well and the Labitad kid isn't big at all, but he's quick and he's a tough runner," noted Holt.
The Engineers saw a three-game winning streak come to a close last week with a 52-6 loss to Oaks.
"Oaks 45'd them, but I've heard they rested some kids and didn't play everyone," said Holt.
Gans wrapped up second place in District B-4 last week with a hard-fought 38-26 win over Cave Springs. The Grizzlies fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter, but got the ground game going and fought back to get the win.
Jake Knapp ran for 113 yards on 11 carries and scored on runs of 17, six and three yards. Gans, which rushed for 303 yards as a team, also got a pair of touchdown runs from quarterback Nick Woodruff.
This marks the fifth consecutive year for Gans to reach the playoffs and the Grizzlies enjoyed a deep postseason run to the Class B state championship game a year ago. Holt said that playoff seasoning should benefit Gans.
"It should help. The seniors have been in the playoffs every year and we have some kids who have played in the state championship game, so they know what it's like," said Holt, who also likes the Grizzlies' poise in tough situations. "The last two weeks we got behind, but we didn't panic. We stayed with the gameplan, executed and were able to come back. I think that will help us too."
Gans is averaging 38.1 points per game with junior tailback Heath Branham leading the way for the offense. Branham has carried the ball 126 times for 1,030 yards and 12 touchdowns. Alls has rushed for another 563 yards and Jake Knapp has gained 470 and scored 11 touchdowns. Woodruff, a freshman, has completed 36-of-66 throws for 424 yards and Eual Knapp leads the receivers with 14 catches for 132 yards.
The Grizzly defense allowed the second-fewest points in District B-4 behind champion Weleetka. Linebacker Jake Knapp has logged a team-best 93 tackles with defensive end Matt Barrett close behind on the tackle chart.
