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The playoffs are becoming familiar territory for the Catoctin High football team. In the past four years, head coach Doug Williams has seen his team make it into the region final.

"We've been to this game three times and we've come away empty," Williams said.

The last time Catoctin made it to the state semifinal was in 1986. They also showed up in 1982. But for each of the past three years, the Cougars have been within touching distance of adding to that history.

This time out, they'll be facing a team that's completely new to this stage of the playoffs – Pikesville earned its first-ever playoff win when it beat New Town in the semifinal. As the No. 2 seed, the Panthers get to play host, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. on Friday.

Williams said that the Catoctin staff has two games on film from Pikesville, and has been breaking down an attack that he called similar to Liberty's offense, but with a more mobile quarterback.

Running out of a spread offense, there are at least three major running threats out of the backfield. Catoctin's win over Chesapeake in the semifinals was also based on shutting down a heavy run, but Williams won't be keeping the same attack plan.

"Not necessarily, because they throw the ball decently, too," Williams said. "We have to keep him from crossing the road. If we can keep them in front of us, then defensively we should be able to stay in the game."

The question now, though, is who will be that threat? Jeremy Downing, a junior, has been the starting quarterback for most of the season. He ran for two touchdowns early in the 22-18 win over New Town. But in the third quarter, he left the game with a hip injury, leaving Jordan Parker for fill-in duties. Parker then scored a rushing TD and added a 2-point conversion pass to Rasheed Salau.

While it is Pikesville's first deep run into the playoffs, it's not the first time that Catoctin has crossed paths with Baltimore County squads.

Last year, the Cougars opened the region playoffs with a 43-6 running clock drubbing of Sparrows Point. That team didn't have the best of recoveries, as losses to Chesapeake, New Town and Pikesville knocked them out of the playoffs this year. And while New Town's run ended with the loss to Pikesville, it was to be expected, as Pikesville beat them 26-22 in the regular season.

But the one team gave problems to Pikesville, New Town and Sparrows Point this year was Chesapeake – which the Cougars hammered for five second-half touchdowns in this year's region semifinal.

All of the scores were rushing touchdowns, showing off the Cougars penchant for a brutal running game. However, spotting the head of that attack is akin to cutting off a head of a hydra. Seniors Bryce McGuire,

Sean Chilson and Nathan Lenhart all scored for Catoctin, while sophomores Austin Carter and Landon Routzahn also added their impact.

"It's a committee," Williams said. "We run the double wing, and now we moved Bryce to quarterback, we have four running backs on the field."

Clearly, Catoctin knows it's in for a different region final than last year – when they lost by one point to South Carroll. Both teams had average records that were a result from battle-testing inside the Monocacy Valley Athletic League. This year, the Cougars are the lone MVAL representative in the 1A North playoffs.