Clinton-Massie has played a string of four consecutive down-to-the-wire games, leaving each site with a victory as they’ve compiled a 6-0 record.

“To be 6-0 at this point in our season is a testament to the players and coaches,” Massie head coach Dan McSurley said.

Will that run continue this week at Goshen? We’ll find out. Kickoff from Jim Brown Stadium is set for 7 p.m. Friday night.

The latest in that run of thrillers was a 17-14 victory at Alumni Field over county rival Wilmington.

“Getting out of there with a win was huge for us,” the Massie coach said. “Wilmington may have had the best defensive line we’ve played to date. For the first time this season we needed to overcome some adversity.”

McSurley said the Falcons lost one of their best skill players in Brady Russell in practice leading up to the WHS game then lost offensive line standout Tayten McCoy during the game. McSurley said Russell could be back in a few weeks and McCoy is a hopeful return for later in the season.

With just 12 seniors on the roster, McSurley said “this is without question the youngest group we’ve had in a long time.” That young group is growing up fast with so many close games but that leaves little margin for error. So far so good but the post-season looms and that margin decreases with each step.

McSurley said with so many close calls, there are those who doubt the Falcons unblemished record. He’s not concerned, though, because Clinton-Massie has been through all that before.

“The players and coaches need to avoid the distractions and just keep focusing on us and ignore the backbiters and naysayers,” he said.

RECORDS: Clinton-Massie is 6-0 overall and 1-0 in the SBAAC American Division. Goshen is 1-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play with a 49-13 loss to New Richmond.

PLAYOFFS: The Falcons are No. 1 in the Div. IV Region 16 playoff rankings. The 18.05 average is one of the highest numbers among teams in any division in the state, which points to the level of competition Clinton-Massie has played this season. The season finale against New Richmond (5-1 and No. 8 in Div. III Region 12) is the only remaining game against a team with a winning record for CMHS.

SERIES: Clinton-Massie leads the series 6-3. The Falcons have wins of 42-0 (2022), 69-14 (2021), 57-7 (2020), 35-7 (2019), 21-2 (2018). The Warriors won a memorable game 33-31 in 2017, which was Massie’s first loss in a league game dating back to the South Central Ohio League days when Washington Senior won another thriller 35-34 in Week 8 of the 2007 season. Goshen was actually the first varsity opponent for Clinton-Massie when Tony Lamke got the program going in 1964. The Falcons won that game in Week 1 by a 24-20 score.