HCHS battles Creston for playoff positioning

 CRESTON -- Barring any upsets elsewhere in District 8, the Harlan Community football team can actually clinch a playoff berth Friday night with a win at Creston/Orient-Macksburg.
 And considering all the struggles of last year’s 3-6 campaign, that’s a good place to be when it’s only Week 7 on the schedule.
 Bringing that victory back to Harlan may not be easy, however, when the 7th-ranked (3-A) Cyclones tackle an unranked Panther team that has won three of the last four meetings in a series previously dominated by HCHS.
 The Cyclones (5-1 overall) and Creston (4-2) enter Friday’s 7:30 kickoff tied for third place in the district standings at 2-1 - one game back of co-leaders Dallas Center-Grimes and Glenwood. The Panthers lost to current No. 8 Norwalk in Week 1 (26-7) and suffered their other loss vs. unbeaten Glenwood in Week 5 (56-35).