Malden begins its quest for a fourth straight MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 championship with a quarterfinal Friday against Kelly.
The Green Wave (8-1) have won eight straight district playoff games dating back to the 2013 final against Caruthersville but will need to win two more for a rematch with the Tigers, who earned the top seed with a 33-7 win at Malden earlier this season.
Malden beat Kelly 50-0 at The Swamp on Sept. 8, holding the Hawks to 11 total yards, including minus-1 yard rushing.
"Playing people twice is difficult," Malden coach Kevin Kevin Collier said. "They're improved. We beat them early in the season. The key is keeping our kids focused on the task at hand."
The Hawks (2-7) are coming off a 26-12 loss at Chaffee after losing by eight points against Scott City. Kelly has yet to win a postseason game, losing to Caruthersville in each of the last three seasons since the program was elevated to the varsity level.
Kelly got within 14 points twice in the second half last week after trailing 20-0 at halftime.
"We were really flat in the firs half, picked it up in the second half, and we got a lot better in the second half," Kelly coach Lance Powers told the Southeast Missourian.
Nelson Shadwick scored twice in the loss while freshman Evan Urhahn, slowed by a toe turf injury, led with 61 yards rushing on eight carries. Quarterback Christian Worley was 16 of 21 passing for 184 yards as Landon Hahs caught 10 passes for 134 yards.
"As the regular season ends, we're a totally different ball club than we were last year," Powers told the Southeast Missourian. "We do a lot of things better. We still make mistakes."
Malden, which is averaging 386.1 rushing yards per game, is coming off a 44-12 win over Dexter.
Senior running back Tray Stevenson needs 32 yards to reach 2,000 for the season. He has scored 30 times, including one of his fourth catches for 114 yards, and is averaging 9.5 yards per carry.
Top-seeded Caruthersville (7-2) has a bye and will play the winner of St. Pius X-Festus and Charleston next Friday. With a win, Malden would host the semifinal against the winner of Jefferson and East Prairie next week.
"We take things one day at a time," Collier said. "Focus on what we do. We don't want to have mediocre practices. The last few have been pretty good."