by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — Sumner County has a 3-0 record in the high school football playoffs so far. That’s a huge accomplishment.

What happens on Saturday may be a different story. Conway Springs, South Haven and Caldwell will be seeing even tougher opponents this weekend as the second round of the playoffs begin. But isn’t that the way it is supposed to be?

Conway Springs (9-1) is hosting its arch-rival Garden Plain (10-0).

South Haven (10-0) is traveling to Madison (9-1)

Caldwell (6-4) is hosting Baileyville B&B (10-0) 

Garden Plain (9-1) at Conway Springs (10-0), Saturday, 6 p.m.

The recipe for a long Conway Spring playoff run usually includes a game against Garden Plain somewhere down the line and a battle with Silver Lake in the state championship game.

The Cardinals and Owls have met in the playoffs four of the past five seasons.

Those playoff scores were:

2007 – Garden Plain 42 Conway Springs 0

2008 – Conway Springs 45 Garden Plain 25

2010 – Conway Springs 20 Garden Plain 6

2011 – Conway Springs 38 Garden Plain 14

That year 2009 saw neither Garden Plain nor Conway Springs get past the first two rounds.

Conway Springs has owned Garden Plain in the playoffs during the last three times played. Interestingly in 2008 and 2011, the Conway Springs lost to Garden Plain only to come back and reverse fortunes when the games really counted.

So if history is an indicator, that’s good news for Conway Springs which lost to Garden Plain 41-21 earlier this year. But this may be a more severe test.

Garden Plain did not just win, it dominated in October. The Owls accumulated 382 yards to the Cardinals 220. Tanner Wood was held to 159 yards rushing (as if all running backs could have that trouble).

For Conway Springs to win this game, the defense has to step up. Come early. There won’t be many seats left.

South Haven (10-0) at Madison (9-1), Saturday, 2 p.m.

The good news is South Haven is playing an opponent that we can actually pronounce. Marais des Cygne Valley is a school that keeps reporters and radio announcers up at night with worry.

The bad news is, South Haven’s easy breezy games may be over.

Madison’s lone loss came in week one when it lost to Baileyville 34-22. Since that point, the Bulldogs have rolled over everyone, including the Cardinals Tuesday night opponent, the MDCV Trojans, 44-14 in the regular season.

The thing going for South Haven is its combination of running and passing. It had 187 yards rushing and 189 yards passing combined. That’s impressive in that the Cardinals don’t rely on one facet of the game.

One observer told Sumner Newscow that this may be South Haven’s toughest playoff game until the finals. We’ll see. To get to the finals, the Cardinals have to win this game first.

Baileyville (10-0) at Caldwell (6-4), Saturday, 4 p.m. 

Here’s a stat that Caldwell fans probably don’t want to hear. Baileyville has been in a state championship game since 2007.

It doesn’t really lose until the state championship game and there is no indication that the wheels are about to come off. Baileyville has given up just seven touchdowns this season.

Last year it was the same team that eliminated South Haven in the semifinals 42-20.

But for Caldwell, it’s “so what?” The Bluejays are sky high after their huge upset against another undefeated team Waverly. Buoyed by eight turnovers, Caldwell rolled to a 50-36 victory. Getting to the second round was huge and the Bluejays pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the state playoffs so far.

The fact Caldwell is playing a big playoff game in front of the home folks is an attribute to the team’s tenacity. Watch out Baileyville.