The New Glarus Glarner Knights have spent much of the fall pounding out yards on the ground. Friday night, they will try to keep a pass-happy opponent from doing damage through the air.

New Glarus (8-1) opens the WIAA Division 5 football playoffs against Bloomer (4-5) at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, at The Bank of New Glarus Field. The Knights enter as the No. 1 seed in their eight-team grouping, the first top playoff seed in program history, while the visiting Blackhawks carry the No. 8 seed.

The matchup pits two markedly different offensive approaches against each other. New Glarus has three runners with more than 300 yards apiece this season. Bloomer, meanwhile, operates a spread offense directed by junior quarterback Connor Schemenauer, whose 1,441 passing yards rank sixth in Division 5, according to Bound statistics supplied for the matchup.

New Glarus earned its favorable position with an 8-1 regular season, including a 6-1 mark and second-place finish in the Southwest Wisconsin Activities League. The Knights have won five straight since their only loss, a 41-10 setback to defending state champion Darlington on Sept. 11, and finished the regular season by beating Fennimore 56-14 and Benton/Scales Mound/Shullsburg 35-7.