Three local schools are set to compete in the section round of the 4A and 3A football playoffs, meaning they’re only two wins away from a state championship game appearance.

Eudora and Tonganoxie are in the 4A playoff bracket, while Baldwin is in the 3A. All three will play on Friday at 7 p.m.

Eudora entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed in the 4A East with a 6-2 record. In the Cardinals’ wins this season, they’re averaging 41.5 points per game and have put up over 50 points four times. But in their two losses, the Eudora offense put up a total of seven points in a 14-0 loss to Tonganoxie and a 28-7 loss to Paola.

The Eudora defense has been an unmovable force this year, holding teams to an average of 11.5 points per game. The Cardinals have three shutout wins, including a 52-0 win over Chanute in Eudora’s Week 9 playoff game. Last week, Eudora beat Lansing 24-14 in the regional round.

The Cardinals have a challenge ahead of them with Bishop Miege, the undefeated leader of 4A that beat the Cardinals at Eudora last year. The Stags are 10-0 with only two games being decided by fewer than 13 points. The Stags average 43.8 points per game and have scored over 60 points in two of their last three games. Defensively, they’re giving up 18.4 points per game.

The Stags started the playoffs with a 61-6 win over Coffeyville-Field Kindley in Week 9 before defeating St. Thomas Aquinas 31-28 in the regional round.

Tonganoxie entered the playoffs with a 5-3 record, earning the No. 7 seed in the 4A East. The Chieftains started with a 48-6 win over No. 10 Labette County, which put the Chieftains up against No. 2 Louisburg, a team the Chieftains lost to at the beginning of the year. Instead of the 21-7 Week 1 loss, Tonganoxie won 38-20 to take home-field advantage for the sectional round.

The Chieftains have been on a hot streak the last three weeks, putting up an average of 35.7 points per game while allowing only 8.7 points per game.

This week, Tonganoxie is hosting Ottawa, a familiar opponent whom the Chieftains defeated 21-0 earlier this season. Ottawa held the No. 11 seed in the playoffs but upset No. 6 Independence 14-6 in Week 9. After that, the Cyclones handled No. 3 Kansas City-Sumner Academy 42-7, setting them up for their match against the Chieftains.

Ottawa already avenged one loss earlier this year when they defeated Independence. The Bulldogs beat the Cyclones 18-14 in Week 6 before Ottawa got the playoff win in the first round.

Wins for Eudora and Tonganoxie would pit the two Frontier League teams against each other in the substate round the following Friday.

Baldwin started the year 3-2 before a five-game winning streak put the Bulldogs in the sectional round of the playoffs where the Bulldogs will face Frontenac on Friday at 7 p.m.

Baldwin finished second in the 3A District 3 with a 4-1 record, losing only to Topeka-Hayden in the regular season. But in the regional tournament last week, Baldwin upset Hayden with a 29-28 overtime win.

The Bulldogs are averaging 36.9 points per game, while allowing just 11.9 points per game. In Baldwin’s win streak, the defense has been dominant with two shutouts and two games in which the Bulldogs allowed fewer than seven points.

Baldwin will have a tall task on Friday at Frontenac, which is undefeated and earned the No. 1 seed in the 3A East. The Raiders have scored fewer than 26 points once, in Week 1 during a 15-13 win over Baxter Springs. The Raiders average 35.1 points per game but have scored over 35 points six times this season.

Defensively, the Raiders are possibly even better. They’ve allowed more than 10 points only twice, once in the first week and again in a 46-27 win over Girard. The Raiders have four shutouts, along with four games holding teams to eight points or fewer.

A win would put the Bulldogs up against either Nemaha Central or Jefferson West, neither of which Baldwin has played this season.