Mon. Oct 26th, 2026
High school football team in black uniforms with orange numbers running onto the field in front of a crowd in orange and blackThe North Union Wildcats open the playoffs Friday night at Vermilion, live on Friday Night Lights LIVE.

Playoff football takes over Friday Night Lights LIVE this week. The No. 9 seed North Union Wildcats (7-3) travel to the No. 8 seed Vermilion Sailors (7-3) on Friday night for a Division V, Region 18 first-round matchup, and there is no tomorrow for the loser. Friday Night Lights LIVE carries every snap from Vermilion, with pregame coverage at 6:45 p.m. and kickoff at 7 p.m.

It is as even a first-round draw as the bracket produces: two 7-3 teams, one home field, and a single spot in the regional quarterfinal on the line. The winner’s reward is a trip to face No. 1 seed LaGrange Keystone next Friday, November 6. For North Union, out of Richwood, the road to the second round runs through the Lake Erie shore — the price of the nine seed is a bus ride and somebody else’s home crowd.

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Vermilion, meanwhile, defends its own field as the eight seed, and first-round home games are earned over ten weeks, not given. The Sailors will look to make that home field count against a North Union team that has spent the season proving it belongs in the postseason picture.

Calling the action on Friday Night Lights LIVE are Zac Fuller and Bryson Hummel, broadcasting from the Vermilion press box. Pregame coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. Friday, with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

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Can’t make it to Vermilion? You don’t have to miss a snap. Listen live, free, in The NewsForce247.com App at app.newsforce247.com, on the Listen Live player at NewsForce247.com, on TuneIn, and on the other streaming directories and radio apps that carry NewsForce Radio. Friday Night Lights LIVE starts at 6:45 p.m. Friday — Wildcats and Sailors, win or go home.

By Lance Freeman

Editor in Chief of NewsForce247.com. Lance sets the coverage agenda for the newsroom and leads a reporting team covering all 88 Ohio counties — breaking news, weather, elections, and high school sports, around the clock.

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