DANVILLE — The Blue Devils have sailed these seas before.
Corning Miller is in uncharted waters.
Top-seeded Danville will take on No. 5 Miller in a Division VII, Region 27 semifinal game at 7 p.m. Friday at Sheridan High School’s Culver Stadium.
Danville (10-2) is in the playoffs for the 23rd time in program history and has 32 all-time playoff wins after last week’s 60-2 dismantling of Portsmouth Notre Dame. The Blue Devils have four regional championships to their credit and have reached the regional final each of the past two seasons.
“These guys have played in a lot of big games,” Danville coach Matthew Blum said. “They are used to winning. It is a credit to the culture of our program.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons (10-2) are making their sixth trip to the postseason. Miller picked up its first-ever playoff victory two weeks ago and followed it up with a 36-20 win over Steubenville Catholic Central last week.
Danville has steamrolled its two postseason opponents by a combined score of 114-2. The Blue Devils have won seven in a row after opening the campaign 3-2.
“I think we’re playing our best football now,” quarterback Jacob Hackman said after a 54-0 win over Bridgeport in the Region 27 opener. “We’ve gotten better each week.”
Danville piled up 334 rushing yards in last week’s 60-2 victory over Portsmouth Notre Dame. Aidan Burke led the charge with 135 yards on just five carries with scoring runs of 85 and 23 yards. Freshman Cyren Wallce added an 80-yard scoring run, while Josh Byers broke loose for a 56-yard TD.
Burke has rushed for 1,302 yards and 13 touchdowns on 179 carries. Hackman has completed 73-of-126 passes for 932 yards and eight touchdowns.
Linebacker Josh Byers had another big game against Notre Dame. The senior registered 11 tackles and now has 165 stops on the year.
Danville’s secondary recorded two more interceptions last week and has 20 picks on the season. The Blue Devils had four sacks in their latest outing and now have 30.5 sacks on the season.
While the Blue Devils coasted in last week’s win over Notre Dame, Miller had its hands full with Steubenville Catholic Central. The Falcons trailed 6-0 after fumbling away the opening kickoff and led 14-12 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.
Junior running back Zander Bice rumbled for 193 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21 carries. Bice is the centerpiece of Miller’s run-heavy offense with 1,524 yards and 21 touchdowns on 174 carries. He’s rushed for 100 or more yards in eight of Miller’s 12 games.
Quarterback Logan Doughty attempted just three passes last week. For the season the senior is 55-for-91 for 853 yards and rushed for 1,037 yards and 18 TDs on 121 carries.
Running back Noah LeMaster scored a pair of TDs last week. The sophomore has 563 yards and eight TDs on 64 carries for the season.
Bice leads the Miller defense with 93 tackles from his linebacker spot. Fellow linebacker organ Elsom has 84 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss after making 10 stops in last week’s victory over SCC. Defensive lineman Wyatt Porter has 86 tackles, while end Maddox Bolyard has five sacks.
Doughty has seven of Miller’s 12 interceptions. Nick Thompson has three interceptions and is Miller’s leading receiver with 26 catches for 445 yards and six TDs.
Danville is 34-6 in the past three seasons. The Blue Devils are heavily favored to win the Region 27 championship and reach the state semifinals for the first time since 2017.
“You always want to be playing your best football during the playoffs and I think we’re doing that right now,” Blum said after last week’s win. “It’s a credit to our guys.”