As far as the Bradford football team is concerned, the playoffs start at 7 tonight when it travels to Franklin for an anticipated showdown between the only two unbeaten teams in the Southeast Conference.

After that, the Red Devils close out the regular season against rival Tremper before the actual WIAA postseason kicks off on Oct. 27.

“Like we told our kids, every game from here on out is going to be a playoff-type game,” Bradford coach Jed Kennedy said. “Realistically, that’s kind of what you want.

“We’re playing well. The big thing that we’ve talked about is we want to see how much we’ve progressed. That’s how you do it — you play against a good team. We’ll see (tonight) how far we’ve come.”

Bradford (7-0) and Franklin (6-1) are both 5-0 in the Southeast Conference and tonight’s winner will clinch at least a share of the league title. The Red Devils have not won a conference crown since the 1987 team went 7-1 in the Big Nine Conference under Harry Stoebe.

“We really don’t talk about that much,” Kennedy said. “We talk about what we have to do to become a No. 1 seed in the playoffs. Obviously, winning a conference championship is part of that.”

Local high school football followers may have a case of deja vu with tonight’s familiar matchup.

In 2006, both teams were 7-0 when they squared off on a chilly Thursday night at Art Keller Field. The Red Devils trailed 21-0 at halftime and fell short, 21-19. The Sabers went on to win an undefeated WIAA Division-2 State title.

Tonight, Bradford brings an 11-game regular-season winning streak into the contest, while Franklin has won five in a row since losing to state-ranked Marquette in Week 2.

“We have our work cut out for us,” Kennedy said. “Franklin is playing exceptionally well.”

Bradford backers are welcoming the challenge.

“Our fans have been great,” Kennedy said. “There seems to be a great buzz right now around school. It’s going to be a great atmosphere for those kids to be a part of.”