MANSFIELD — Josiah Schleusener and his Mansfield Christian teammates plan to turn up the heat inside The Furnace on Friday night.
MCS will host Kidron Central Christian in what is the de facto Mid-Buckeye Conference championship game.
The Flames (9-6, 5-1) and Comets (12-5, 5-1) are tied atop the MBC standings with two conference games remaining. The winner of Friday’s game is guaranteed of at least a share of the conference title.
KCC swept the season series last year to win the MBC title. MCS finished as conference runner-up for a third straight season.
“Last year we lost both times. The first game was a nail-biter and the second one at their place was a great game, too,” Schleusener after the Flames dispatched Lucas 60-47 last week to snap a two-game losing streak.
“To win a conference championship would be a dream come true.”
That Schleusener and Co. are in the hunt is a testament to the work of Mansfield Christian’s eight-man senior class. Schleusener was the lone holdover from last year’s team, which finished 11-11.
MCS lost more than 90 percent of its offensive productivity to graduation and the transfer of Davion Mack, last year’s MBC Player of the Year.
“We have eight seniors but only one of them played a significant amount of varsity last season. Joe was our only returning starter,” veteran coach Cary Craner said. “They have exceeded expectations. There’s a pretty good chance we’ll end up with a better record this year than we had last year.
“They’re playing really well.”
Seniors Landin Cyphers, Hudson Stigall, Bryson Winemiller and Blayne Morrow have made the most of their expanded roles this winter. Cyphers scored 13 points in last week’s win over Lucas, while Stigall added 10. The following night, Winemiller dropped a career-high 19 in a come-from-behind win over Firelands Conference frontrunner Plymouth.
Morrow sat out with an ankle injury last week, but is expected back Friday. Moreover, MCS is finally healthy after being ravaged by the flu.
“A couple of guys were out for a number of weeks,” Schleusener said. “All of our starters except one have been out because of illness.
“We had so many guys out a couple of weeks ago that we had to reschedule our games against St. Peter’s.”
With a conference championship game Friday and the postseason on the horizon, The Flames are hitting their stride at the right time.
Mansfield Christian’s last conference championship came in 2014, its first season in the MBC.
“Winning a conference championship would be great for the kids,” Craner said. “We’ve had the opportunity to win it the last three years but we lose that important game.
“We know we’ve got a big one coming. We’ll play our game and see where we stand after 32 minutes.”