The football team at South Warren High School has the school buzzing.

South Warren will host a playoff game for the first time in school history when it welcomes Trigg County in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“Everybody in the whole school, not just the football team, is excited,” South Warren junior quarterback Jay Eblen said. “We’ve given ourselves a really good opportunity to try and make a run in the playoffs.”

The Spartans are 7-3 this season, with two of their losses by a touchdown or less, including a 14-10 loss to unbeaten Warren East to open the season.

Trigg County is 5-5, having dropped its last two games by a combined 10 points. South Warren coach Mark Nelson said the Tigers are dangerous opponents.

“Their schedule is killer and they’ve played with everyone they’ve had on the schedule,” Nelson said. “Their talent is unbelievable. They are a very scary, very skillful team.”

Trigg County has scored at least 28 points in seven games this season. Junior running back Jayven Jones has rushed for more than 900 yards, while junior quarterback Luke McKenzie has thrown for almost 1,500 yards.

“I don’t think anyone has been able to stop them,” Nelson said. “They can move the ball and their offense has a lot of diversity to it. They go to a lot of different people. The key is holding them down and then on offense grinding down the clock.”

Trigg County coach Coby Lewis said one of the Tigers’ biggest concerns this week is getting healthy.

Six players missed last week’s game, including senior running back/defensive back Chris Acree, senior wide receiver/defensive back Darrell Murphy and senior lineman Mason Hyde.

“We have our hands full, we think,” Lewis said. “We’re pretty banged up right now. If we can get everybody healthy, we feel like we have a chance. If we don’t, then we’re going to be scrambling.”

The keys will be playing solid defense on all three downs and slowing down the South Warren running game, Lewis said. Offensively, Lewis said his team must limit mistakes.

Nelson said the keys for the Spartans will be to continue to play good defense, while playing turnover- and penalty-free on offense.

“This is obviously our biggest game of the season,” junior center Cody Chaffin said. “I know we’ve said that three or four times, but this is the biggest one. We just have to stay focused and keep our minds on the task at hand.”

Class 5A

No. 4 Apollo (2-8) at No. 1 Bowling Green (10-0)

The Purples will look to extend the state’s longest active winning streak on senior night against the Eagles.

Bowling Green stretched its win streak to 25, one shy of equaling the school record, in last week’s win over Lexington Catholic. The Purples appear to be a big favorite in Friday’s opening round matchup, with Apollo 1-6 in its last seven games.

No. 3 Hopkinsville (3-6) at No. 2 Warren Central (9-1)

The Dragons will look to advance against a Hopkinsville team that has struggled against common opponents.

The Tigers lost to Greenwood and Fort Campbell by a combined 50 points. Warren Central beat Fort Campbell 58-13 and blanked the Gators 36-0.

No. 3 Greenwood (8-2) at No. 2 Christian County (8-2)

The Gators will try for the second road playoff win in school history when they travel to Hopkinsville to face the Colonels.

Greenwood got some momentum in the season finale, rallying from 21 points down to beat Central Hardin 35-34.

The Gators could be in another shootout this week. Christian County scored 34 points last week, a season low, and is averaging 45.3 points on the season. The Colonels’ two losses have been by a combined six points.

No. 4 Logan County (2-8) at No. 1 Graves County (8-2)

The Cougars return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. Graves County has won six straight, scoring at least 42 points in every game. The Eagles are averaging 43.8 points on the season.

Class 4A

No. 4 Calloway County (5-5) at No. 1 Warren East (10-0)

After becoming the first Warren County school to go 10-0 in the regular season, the Raiders will try to avoid a first-round letdown for a second straight season.

Warren East was bounced at home by Owensboro in last year’s opening. The Raiders’ defense has allowed a Class 4A-low 74 points, but Calloway County is averaging 27 points a game. Calloway County quarterback Tyler Green is a dual threat – throwing for 1,789 yards and 11 scores, while rushing for 962 yards and 16 touchdowns.

No. 3 Madisonville-North Hopkins (6-4) at No. 2 Allen County-Scottsville (3-7)

Allen County-Scottsville earned a first-round home game with a 27-14 win over Franklin-Simpson two weeks ago.

Madisonville finished in a three-way tie for first in District 1, but tiebreakers dropped the Maroons to the three seed. Madisonville-North Hopkins enters the postseason having won six out of seven after starting the year 0-3.

No. 3 Franklin-Simpson (3-7) at No. 2 Lone Oak (7-3)

The Wildcats won two out of their last three games, and now travel to face a familiar postseason opponent.

Franklin-Simpson eliminated Lone Oak 20-7 in last year’s region championship game. The Purple Flash eliminated the Wildcats in the second round of the playoffs in 2009 and 2010.

Class 2A

No. 4 Butler County (6-4) at No. 1 Caldwell County (7-3)

The Bears head to Princeton to face Caldwell County, which had a five-game win streak snapped with a 48-7 loss at Mayfield last week.

Caldwell County’s other two losses were by a combined four points.

The Bears secured a winning record with a 26-21 win over Edmonson County in the regular season finale.

No. 4 Washington County (2-8) at No. 1 Glasgow (8-2)

The Scotties’ quest to return to the Class 2A title game begins against Washington County, which has been held to seven points or less five times.

Glasgow has won four straight, outscoring its opponents 183-22 in that span.

Class A

No. 3 Bethlehem (5-5) at No. 2 Russellville (7-3)

Two teams heading in opposite directions open the postseason in Russellville.

The Panthers are 5-1 in the last six games. Bethlehem has lost three out of its last four.