Welcome to the start of the high school football playoffs week in Ohio.

Friday night's WCPO 9 Game of the Week features Mason (5-5) at Lebanon (7-3) in a Division I first-round matchup with plenty of familiarity.

Lebanon coach Micah Faler was previously the Mason head freshman football coach for two years and the varsity quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator for three years. He was also the head eighth grade coach at Middle Middle School for five years.

The two programs have scrimmaged each other the past two preseasons. This will be the first game between the two since Mason defeated Lebanon 34-16 in the first round of the 2020 playoffs.

Lebanon and Mason won their respective regular-season finales Oct. 20 and this figures to be a tightly-contested matchup of Nos. 8 and 9 seeds.

Faler along with senior defensive tackle Evan Black and middle linebacker Charlie Smith joined the WCPO High School Insider Podcast to discuss this season. Lebanon (7-3) has won five consecutive games entering the playoffs. It is the first five-game win streak since 2016, according to athletic director Keith Pantling.