Staff file photo / Neel Madhavan LaBrae’s Easton Armstrong (14) tackles Warren JFK’s Steven Thomas (8) during a football game at Liberty High School on Sept. 7.

A year ago, LaBrae lost three of its first four games, then had to claw its way back into the playoff picture by finishing with a 5-5 regular season record.

This year, it appears as though the Vikings won’t have to crunch the playoff numbers down the stretch.

LaBrae has raced off to a 5-1 record, and according to fantastic50.net the Vikings have already secured a playoff berth. On Friday the Vikings – 2-1 in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Tier – hope to exceed last year’s win total when they host Champion.

“Last year we were pretty young in a lot of areas, and the team grew as the season progressed,” Vikings coach Jon Elliot said. “This year we had a pretty good feeling about who we were. Our kids were a bit more experienced, and with that came confidence.”

LaBrae raced off to a 3-0 start, including a win over Warren JFK (5-1) before falling to Garrettsville Garfield, 28-21. The Vikings have since won two straight.

“The win over Kennedy was a huge confidence boost for our kids, it showed we could play with the really strong programs,” Elliot said. “Even in our loss to Garfield, we were right there in that game against a perennial power. We came out of that game feeling good about where we were at. So those two games, back-to-back, sort of set the tone for the rest of the season.”

LaBrae’s offense is paced by junior quarterback Kenny Yoho, who has completed 55 of 81 pass attempts for 832 yards.

“Like a lot of our kids, Kenny was thrown into the fire last year, and during the offseason, he attended a ton of camps and came into this year ready to go,” Elliot said. “His numbers aren’t crazy high, but he has completed nearly 70 percent of his passes. He’s incredibly accurate, and he’s such a smart kid, he’s like having a coach on the field.”

LaBrae has enjoyed its strong start despite an injury suffered by a key component of the team – its coach.

In LaBrae’s 26-25 win over Campbell in Week 2, Elliot suffered a broken leg as he was making his way from the press box to the sidelines during the waning moments of the contest.

“I just felt like I needed to communicate with the players and coaches from the sidelines rather than from the phones, so I rushed down and jumped over the wall along the sidelines,” Elliot said. “Well, the landing is slanted, and I came down awkwardly. At first I thought it was just a bad sprain, but after the game I knew it was much worse.”

Eventually, Elliot had to undergo surgery to repair a broken tibia. He has since been coaching with the assistance of an all-terrain scooter.

“It’s frustrating, because I like to get in there and demonstrate things during practice, I like to get involved,” Elliot said. “All my years of playing football, I never suffered any type of injury like this. Just crazy that it happens during a game while coaching.”

Still, Elliot insists the result was worth the reward.

“Yeah, I’ll keep the broken leg in return for the win,” Elliot said.

STINGY IRISHMEN

After suffering a 37-35 season-opening loss to Walsh Jesuit (6-0), Ursuline has reeled off five straight victories to soar atop the Division III Region 9 computer rankings.

Opponents are having an especially difficult time reaching the Ursuline goal line. In their five wins, the Irish have surrendered just two touchdowns and they have recorded three shutouts in their last four games. This includes back-to-back 35-0 victories over Warren G. Harding (4-2) and Austintown Fitch (5-1).

“We’ve become a significantly better practice team as of late, and that has paid off on Friday nights,” Ursuline coach Dan Reardon said. “We had two great weeks of practices and then we went out and beat two extremely talented and well-coached teams in Harding and Fitch. The hard work and preparation is paying off.”

Reardon noted that the Irish headed into the season with plenty of experience on defense, with the exception of the linebacking corps.

“We had a three-year starter back (John Frangos), we had a lot of talent but we lacked experience and depth at linebacker,” Reardon said. “But this unit has quickly turned into a solid group. Their quick progression, along with the experience we had at the other spots has really triggered the defense.

“In this day and age, it’s very difficult to record a shutout and our guys have done it against three opponents who all possess a lot of weapons and talent. We’ve been able to shut down a lot of skilled playmakers.”

Reardon said that as the season has progressed, even a shutout hasn’t been satisfactory for his stingy group of defenders.

“It’s gotten to a point where these kids are getting mad if they give up a first down, they take it personally if they give up a big play,” Reardon said. “This group takes great pride in their performance.

“Our defensive coaches have done a wonderful job of molding this unit to where it is today. It’s nice to see the confidence continue to build with each passing week.”

Ursuline will seek its sixth straight win Friday when it hosts St. Vincent-St. Mary (1-5).

PLAYOFF-BOUND

With four games remaining in the regular season, it appears as though 16 area schools have already punched their ticket into the Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament.

Ten schools from Mahoning County which are playoff-bound include; Fitch, Boardman, Ursuline, Struthers, West Branch, South Range, Poland, Springfield, Valley Christian and Western Reserve.

Trumbull County playoff qualifiers include Girard, LaBrae, Warren John F. Kennedy and McDonald. Columbiana and United are projected qualifiers in Columbiana County.

The regular season ends Oct. 26, with the playoffs beginning the following week. A six-week tournament will conclude the first week of December with the crowning of seven state champions.

Last year, a record 28 area schools qualified for the playoffs.