At 8-2, the Edison Chargers haven’t considered themselves underdogs all season long. That won’t be case on Saturday when they travel to Genoa to take on the undefeated Comets in the Division IV, Region 14 quarterfinal at 7 p.m.

The 2009 season has been full of peaks and valleys for Edison.

After a 7-3 2008 campaign, the Chargers came into this season with high aspirations of making the playoffs with 18 seniors on their roster. They got off to a fast start at 5-0, before their showdown with Sandusky Bay Conference foe Perkins at home in Week 6.

The Chargers dropped the contest to the Pirates 20-13, but a Perkins loss to Clyde in Week 8 gave the Chargers new life for the SBC title.

Edison bounced back to win their next three games and setup a Week 10 matchup with Clyde for a share of the SBC crown.

Unfortunately the Chargers (8-2, 5-2) came out on the short end and lost a hard-fought game at home to the Fliers, 7-0.

Edison had clinched its playoff spot the week before, so the Chargers only lost their chance at the conference crown.

The good news for the Chargers were they made the playoffs for the second time in school history, the bad news is that they drew the high-powered Comets.

Chargers coach Jim Hall, who is 50-41 in his 10th season, said the team was disappointed about not winning the SBC.

“The team was definitely upset, because that was one of our goals this season,” said Hall about winning the SBC. “That’s behind us now, and we know we have another opportunity in the playoffs to make up for that disappointment.”

Hall said he was impressed from what he saw on film from the Comets.

“From what we’ve gathered, they are a very versatile team,” Hall said. “They have great team speed, they are very aggressive, and they are a very confident team.

“They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, and it’s going to be a challenge, but we have some good players of our own.”

Edison does not plan to be a pushover for Genoa.

The Chargers scored 316 points and allowed just 150 points this season. Offensively they are led by senior quarterback Zack Yovanov, who totaled 1,795 yards (971 pass, 821 rush) and 11 touchdowns (2 rush). Senior Dylan Howard led the team in rushing with 1,059 yards on 154 carries and 14 touchdowns, while senior Brady Gelvin totaled 690 yards (522 rush) and scored eight touchdowns. Leading receivers for the Chargers are seniors Kale Divers (13 catches, 227 yards, TD), Louie Arreche (11 catches, 201, TD).

Yovanov said the team is very excited to be the second Edison team to make the playoffs.

“We set three goals this season — go undefeated, win the conference, and make the playoffs,” Yovanov said. “We didn’t play up to our capabilities against Clyde, but we know we can play better.

“We fell short of some of our goals, but our guys have worked really hard to get to where we are.”

Yovanov said he wasn’t impressed by Genoa’s numbers, but he was impressed by how hard Genoa played.

“They go 110 percent on every play until the whistle blows. It’s going to be a war,” Yovanov said. “Our confidence is high, because they haven’t been challenged this season.

“They have not played a team like us,” Yovanov said. “If we can do a good job of mixing it up and pound the ball I think we’ll be in good shape.”

After losing in the Division IV state semifinal in 2008 to Kettering Archbishop Alter 42-34, No. 2 Genoa (10-0, 6-0), who won the Suburban Lakes League for the third year in a row, has destroyed every opponent they’ve faced this season.

To say the Comets’ resume is impressive is an understatement.

The Comets have outscored their opponents by a ridiculous 513 points (537-24) this season. The defense has allowed double-digit points just once, and has seven shutouts. In fact, Genoa hasn’t allowed any points since Week 6, and has out-scored its opponents 207-0 in its last four games.

Third year coach Mike Vicars said the loss to Kettering definitely motivated his team this season.

“We lost in the Final Four last season and our guys wanted to get back to that position,” Vicars said. “We’ve had our fair share of kids at key positions return, and they are ready to make another run at trying to win state.”

Genoa’s juggernaut offense is led by senior, and three-year starter Matt Bassitt, who has thrown for 1,243 yards and 22 touchdowns. Senior Greg Hillabrand led the Comets’ rushing attack with 1,257 yards on 97 carries with 22 touchdowns. Leading pass catchers for Genoa are senior Connor Wendt (24 catches, 530 yards, 12 TD’s), and junior Derek Allgier (33 catches, 436 yards, 8 TD’s).

Defensively, the Comets’ returned six starters and Vicars said he wasn’t surprised by his unit’s dominance.

“Those guys take a lot of pride on defense,” Vicars said. “I knew we had a talented group, but right now they are playing on another level.”

Although his team hasn’t been challenged so far, Vicars said he’s not worried if the game is a close one.

“We can’t do anything about who we played on our schedule,” Vicars said. “Our guys are well conditioned and mentally tough. We faced some adversity last season, so I know they will be prepared for any situation.”

In order to beat Edison, Vicars feels his team with have to use a balanced attack on offense, and stay disciplined on defense.

“This is going to be a tough game,” Vicars said. “There best quality has nothing to do with talent, or schemes. They’re a high quality team and you can tell they are very experienced and a tight group.”