Eisenhower welcomes Iroquois, a team that will be playing with their playoff hopes on the line, tonight.

Lose and the Braves are probably out, while a win keeps their postseason hopes alive.

Meanwhile, the Knights are coming off only their second loss of the 2021 season last week against undefeated

Northwestern. Eisenhower is presently the No. 2 seed in the single “A” playoff structure. A win

for the Knights strengthens their hold.

Iroquois comes into tonight’s game with a 2-3 overall record and is 1-3 in the region. Eisenhower counters with a 4-2 record and are 3-1 in the region.

“They are one of the bigger teams we’ve faced up front, averaging 250 pounds, and their skill-position players all have tremendous speed,” Knights head coach Jim Penley said.

How big is Iroquois upfront? Well, both offensive tackles weigh more than 280 pounds. The mammoth-sized line paves the way for senior quarterback Ethan Klunzing and junior running back Michael Hoopsick.

“They have always been a very physical run team and this year is no different,” Penley said. “They have a couple of backs that are just outstanding.”

Iroquois will have its own worries against the Knights as junior running back Benji Bauer had his breakout game last week against Northwestern, rushing for 150 yards and scoring Eisenhower’s only touchdown.

A couple of key injuries have forced the Knights to move some underclassmen into more prominent roles and they have responded well, at times.

“All season long our youth have been playing well,” Penley said. “Then, last week, a couple of mistakes occurred which we worked on this week in practice. If we don’t fix them, a physical team like Iroqouis will certainly exploit them.

“For us, it comes down to the line of scrimmage. We have to control it on both sides of the ball. We have to have much better tackling and play sound football to put us in the best position to defeat a good team like Iroqouis.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Russell.