There's an air of excitement around Lewis County's campus in Weston. For only the second time ever, and for the first time since 2001, the school's football team is bound for the Class AAA playoffs.

Then coach Eddie Vincent pops in a tape of his team's first-round opponent, defending champion and No. 2 seed South Charleston (9-1), and the euphoria calms down a bit. This is our reward?

Lewis and SC collide at 1:30 pm. Saturday in a first-round matchup at Laidley Field.

"A couple things [come to mind] when you watch them play,'' Vincent said. "Their physical size is imposing. They have some really big guys up front, and their skill players are all big guys, too. To me, it looks like they're very big and very strong. With South Charleston, you expect athletic ability, and they certainly have an abundance of that at every position.

"I was at the championship game last year, and I heard they lost some guys from that team. But I don't see that much difference. The guys they've replaced them with have stepped up, and the coaching staff does a great job putting guys in the right spots. It's obvious they have a lot of things going in the right direction.''

The No. 15 Minutemen (7-3), who have tied the school record for victories in a season, hope this playoff berth treats them better than their last. They came in as the No. 16 (and last) seed in 2001 and were blanked by Morgantown 28-0.

They've played just two games this season against teams that made the playoffs and split those - falling to No. 3 Bridgeport 42-7 and handing No. 8 Nicholas County its lone loss 28-21.

Lewis' wing-T offense relies on lot of the performance of junior running back C.J. Rahming (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), a second-team all-state selection last year. Rahming has rushed for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns on 142 carries. He also doubles as a dangerous kick returner, having brought back four punts and one kickoff for scores.

Rahming's stats resemble those of Musselman's versatile Casey Cochran, who faced SC in last year's first round at Laidley Field. Cochran, who led the Applemen in rushing on the season and returned four kicks for TDs, finished the playoff game with 86 yards and two scores on nine carries, but his team was buried by SC 62-21.

Vincent hopes some other offensive threats emerge for his team Saturday.

There's an air of excitement around Lewis County's campus in Weston. For only the second time ever, and for the first time since 2001, the school's football team is bound for the Class AAA playoffs.

Then coach Eddie Vincent pops in a tape of his team's first-round opponent, defending champion and No. 2 seed South Charleston (9-1), and the euphoria calms down a bit. This is our reward?

Lewis and SC collide at 1:30 pm. Saturday in a first-round matchup at Laidley Field.

"A couple things [come to mind] when you watch them play,'' Vincent said. "Their physical size is imposing. They have some really big guys up front, and their skill players are all big guys, too. To me, it looks like they're very big and very strong. With South Charleston, you expect athletic ability, and they certainly have an abundance of that at every position.

"I was at the championship game last year, and I heard they lost some guys from that team. But I don't see that much difference. The guys they've replaced them with have stepped up, and the coaching staff does a great job putting guys in the right spots. It's obvious they have a lot of things going in the right direction.''

The No. 15 Minutemen (7-3), who have tied the school record for victories in a season, hope this playoff berth treats them better than their last. They came in as the No. 16 (and last) seed in 2001 and were blanked by Morgantown 28-0.

They've played just two games this season against teams that made the playoffs and split those - falling to No. 3 Bridgeport 42-7 and handing No. 8 Nicholas County its lone loss 28-21.

Lewis' wing-T offense relies on lot of the performance of junior running back C.J. Rahming (5-foot-10, 180 pounds), a second-team all-state selection last year. Rahming has rushed for 1,115 yards and nine touchdowns on 142 carries. He also doubles as a dangerous kick returner, having brought back four punts and one kickoff for scores.

Rahming's stats resemble those of Musselman's versatile Casey Cochran, who faced SC in last year's first round at Laidley Field. Cochran, who led the Applemen in rushing on the season and returned four kicks for TDs, finished the playoff game with 86 yards and two scores on nine carries, but his team was buried by SC 62-21.

Vincent hopes some other offensive threats emerge for his team Saturday.

Derek Merritt and Ethan Wilson, who alternate at fullback, have rushed for 324 and 318 yards, respectively, and each has scored three times. Quarterback Britt Tucker has hit on 27-of-61 passes for 551 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions. The top receiver is Derek Mick (17 catches, 372 yards, six TDs).

"We're a wing-T team, so that being said, you know we're going to run the football,'' Vincent said. "We're one of the few traditional wing-T teams left in the state. We have a lot of guys who carry the ball. Our fullbacks have been active, and those two guys together have decent stats.

"The last couple years, Derek Mick doesn't catch a lot of passes because we don't throw the ball much, but he makes big plays.''

In the Minutemen's 50 defense, senior end Merritt (6-3, 205) plays a vital role with 13 quarterback sacks, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries - three of which he's returned for touchdowns. His team allows just 13.3 points and 225.3 yards per game.

"We think he's one of the better defensive players in the state,'' Vincent said.

Lewis County hopes that its rare visit to the postseason motivates its players to bring their best effort.

"Sometimes teams that are there a lot take it for granted,'' Vincent said. "But when you go through a dry spell like we have at Lewis County - with only one other playoff team ever - it's a special event for us. We're certainly approaching it that way.''

Reach Rick Ryan at 304-348-5175 or rickr...@wvgazette.com.