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Their pedigrees couldn't be more different.

Harlan Community has played in 99 playoff games, winning 81, including 12 state championships — all three are Iowa records.

Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln has played in two playoff games, losing both by a combined 98-21.

Yet the teams will meet at Council Bluffs Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Friday, and the buzz is strong in both fan bases. Abraham Lincoln (2-0), rated second in western Iowa (Class 4-A/3-A) by The World-Herald, will host the defending Class 3-A champion Cyclones (1-0), rated first in WI and the state.

The Class 4-A Lynx believe they have their best team in years — maybe decades — and are itching for a win that would afford them statewide credibility.

“The fact that we have won two football games and that we are playing Harlan, the defending state champion, it's just that much bigger,” Abraham Lincoln coach Justin Kammrad said. “It's good for these kids, especially these seniors who have been through a lot, to get this opportunity to play the No. 1 team in the state. You don't get that too often.”

The Lynx have made large strides in recent years, but are still lacking breakthrough victories. In A.L.'s past 20 wins heading into this season, none came against a team that finished with a winning record.

You have to go back to an opening-night win against Southeast Polk in 2005 to find a Lynx victory against a team that finished over .500.

“We have not beaten the teams that have been successful throughout the years,'' said Kammrad, who owns a 13-9 record entering his third year at the helm.

This year, A.L. believes things could change. It returns 17 starters, and opened the season with wins against Council Bluffs Thomas Jefferson (55-7) and Johnston (48-13).

Since Harlan had an open date last week, coach Curt Bladt saw A.L.'s win at Johnston in person.

“I wish I'd stayed home,” he said. “They've got great speed, excellent size, good toughness and good skill people. All of those kids have been playing together for three years now. Things ought to start falling into place for them, and they are.”

Both teams boast gifted tailbacks. A.L. senior Austin Ebertowski leads the state with 432 rushing yards on just 30 carries (14.4 average) and has scored nine times in the two games. The 6-foot, 210-pounder won the Class 4-A 100-meter dash last spring.

Harlan counters with Dylan Barrett, a 6-foot, 195-pound senior who carried 16 times for 254 yards (15.9 average) and three scores in the season opener — second among all Iowa players who have played one game.

It's an equally compelling matchup at quarterback, where both athletes are sons of state championship coaches. Harlan junior Zach Osborn (6-0, 150) is the son of Harlan basketball coach Mitch Osborn, while A.L. senior Alex Olsen (6-5, 180) is the son of Lynx assistant football coach Walt Olsen, who won a pair of Nebraska titles at Hastings High School.

While neither signal-caller is physically imposing, Kammrad said they compensate in other areas.

“They're both unbelievable competitors,” he said. “They're both students of the game. They've been around it since they were little kids. Alex sort of goes under the radar for us, but he really controls everything, and everything does revolve around him.”

As if the matchup needed more spice, Curt Bladt's son Todd was an assistant at A.L. for three years before joining his father's staff. He still communicates with several Lynx coaches.

Harlan led Denison-Schleswig 42-0 at the half in its 49-7 season-opening win.

“You don't find much out by beating people up,'' Curt Bladt said. “We won't be able to do things wrong and make it work against A.L.”

Kammrad, a former All-America running back at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, feels his coaches and players have earned this moment in the spotlight because of their hard work. It's up to them to take advantage of it.

“This is a big task for us,” he said. “We've got to be disciplined in all aspects. We're ready for the challenge.”

Contact the writer:

444-1055, kevin.white@owh.com

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