DANVILLE — If recent history is any indication, Danville and Hillsdale fans had better buckle their seatbelts.

They’re in for a wild ride Friday night.

The 11th-seeded Blue Devils and top-seeded Falcons will meet in the Region 27 championship game at Ridgewood Generals Stadium in West Lafayette.

It will be the third postseason meeting of the north central Ohio small-school heavyweights in the past four years. They split the first two showdowns.

Danville beat Hillsdale 42-41 in the regional quarterfinals in 2022 when both teams were in Region 25. 

Hillsdale repaid the favor in last year’s state semifinals, rallying for a 25-22 win at the Whippet Athletic Complex in Shelby.

“It’s gonna be an awesome atmosphere,” Hillsdale coach Trevor Cline said after last week’s 48-7 win over Symmes Valley. “I know the previous two (playoff meetings) have been great atmospheres and ones that our kids have talked about how they loved playing in that environment.”

Here’s a look back at the previous two meetings:

Danville 42, Hillsdale 41

The Blue Devils led 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-14 late in the second only to see the Falcons stage a furious comeback on Tough Street. 

Hillsdale held Danville scoreless in the third quarter after the Blue Devils scored on all five of their first-half possessions. Meanwhile, the Falcons scored three times to pull even at 35-35 going to the fourth.

Max Payne tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Walker Weckesser with 6:11 remaining to give Danville a 42-35 lead.

The Falcons answered when quarterback Jake Hoverstock orchestrated a 13-play, 70-yard drive. The senior capped it with a 6-yard TD run.

Trailing 42-41 the Falcons opted to go for two. Hoverstock’s conversion pass fell incomplete, leaving Danville with a one-point lead with 1:07 remaining.

Hillsdale recovered the ensuing onside kick and maneuvered into scoring position. The drive stalled at the Danville 18, however, and the Falcons lined up for a potential game-winning 36-yard field goal. 

The kick fell short with less than 20 seconds left.

“I’m gonna remember this game for the rest of my life. I can almost promise you that,” Danville coach Matt Blum said at the time. “And we’ll remember the final score was 42-41, but there were so many individual plays and so many individual battles that our kids won to be able to get there.”

Hillsdale 25, Danville 22

The stakes were even higher when the Falcons and Blue Devils renewed their postseason rivalry last year.

Danville moved to Region 27 and outscored opponents 200-14 to reach the state semifinals for the fifth time in program history.

Meanwhile, Hillsdale authored one of the greatest wins in Ohio postseason annals in the Region 25 semifinals. The Falcons completed Hail Marys at the end of each half for a 50-48 win over Malvern.

Hillsdale captures its first ever regional title with a 44-14 win over Cuyahoga Heights the following week, setting up the rematch.

It didn’t disappoint.

Danville built a 22-6 lead late in the first half on Aidan Burke’s second touchdown run. 

Hillsdale answered when Kael Lewis hooked up with Brock Bower on an 8-yard scoring strike with just four seconds remaining in the half to make it 22-12.

Lewis found Holland Young for a 22-yard touchdown in the third quarter to narrow the gap to 22-18. The quarterback called his own number and scored on a 3 yard keeper early in the fourth to push his team in front 25-22.

The lead held and the Falcons were headed to the state final for the first time.

“Getting an opportunity to play for a state championship is special,” Cline said. “Not too many people get that chance.”

Statistically Speaking

The teams have followed familiar scripts to return to the regional final.

Danville has relied heavily on a punishing ground game. Sophomore Cyren Wallace has rushed for 1,320 yards and 18 touchdowns.

Freshman quarterback Parker Proper has thrown for 1,118 yards and 13 TDs. Fellow freshman Briggs Wallace leads the way with 25 catches for 382 yards and three scores.

Hillsdale has learned heavily on record-setting running back Owen Sloan, quarterback Kael Lewis and receiver Hayden McFadden.

Sloan has rumbled for 1,645 yards and 26 touchdowns. Lewis has completed 134-of-188 passes for 1,999 yards and 23 TDs. McFadden has 36 catches for 672 yards and 10 TDs.

Defensively, Danville ranks second in the Knox Morrow Athletic Conference in total defense, allowing 213.9 yards per game. Chris Mosher and Jacob Byers are the KMAC’s top two tacklers with 164 and 162 stops, respectively.

Hillsdale allows 9.5 points a game. Senior linebacker Brady Heller leads the way with 84 tackles, while Ayden Hoffman has made 78 stops.