The excitement is at a fever pitch for all of East Coweta High School because the playoffs have finally begun. This Friday night, Garland Shoemake Stadium at East Coweta High School will host the first round playoff battle between the East Coweta Indians and the Houston County Bears.

The Indians went undefeated during the regular season, earning a perfect record of 10-0 and showing a plethora of both offensive and defensive weapons. Running back Marvin Smith and quarterback Dantra Clements possess a strength and speed that seemed to allow them to score at will. In their biggest game of the season, against LaGrange, Smith scored six touchdowns and was completely unstoppable. LaGrange was ranked second in the state at that point in the season.

The Indians have outscored their opponents 399 -154 this season, due mostly to a speedy and explosive offense. Five players average over 9 yards a carry for the Indians, including Smith who has over 1300 yards rushing. Only twice this season have the Bears allowed a running back to gain over 100 yards. They look forward to stopping the Indians.

The Houston County Bears (7-3) are excited about facing East Coweta. "They are a great football team," said Coach Doug Johnson. "It's hard to key in on anybody, they have so much talent." Offensively, the Bears have been solid all year. Ernest Sims, their running back has over 1500 yards while fullback Josh Howard has over 600 yards rushing. Quarterback Chance Harridge has done a great job of leading Houston County to the playoffs. He has rushed for over 800 yards and passed for close to 600 yards. The defense for the Bears started off slow but has improved and played extremely well of late.

East Coweta appears to be a team with a vision. They beat the teams that many thought to be invincible, such as Parkview and LaGrange and they never took an opponent for granted. They are multi-talented, determined and getting ever closer to that trip to the Georgia Dome. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

East Coweta vs. Houston County

What: First round playoffs

When-7:30 p.m. tonight