NORTH LEWISBURG — The West Liberty-Salem Tigers have spent the past month steadily building momentum, and Friday night will give them another opportunity to keep that momentum moving in the right direction.

West Liberty-Salem, now 4-2 on the season, will travel to North Lewisburg on Friday, Oct. 9, to take on the Triad Cardinals (2-5) in an Ohio Heritage Conference matchup. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For the Tigers, the season has taken a noticeable turn since a difficult 0-2 start.

After opening the year with losses to Jonathan Alder and Benjamin Logan, West Liberty-Salem answered with four consecutive victories. The Tigers have defeated Cedarville, Catholic Central, Greenon and Fairbanks before putting together perhaps their most complete performance of the season last Friday.

WLS dominated Northeastern, 35-0, in a game that showcased the Tigers' ability to make plays in all three phases.

One of the biggest difference-makers has been Grant Krabill.

Krabill turned in a performance to remember against Northeastern, intercepting two passes and adding a 66-yard punt-return touchdown. His two interceptions also pushed his season total to four, putting him among the OHC's interception leaders.

The Tigers have also received steady production from quarterback Beckett Sullivan, who threw two touchdown passes in the victory over Northeastern. Sam Kidd and Silas Krabill have also provided important contributions as West Liberty-Salem has found more consistency offensively.

The turnaround has been especially impressive considering how the season began.

After being outscored 82-23 in its first two games, WLS has responded by winning four straight and moving to 4-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Tigers currently sit near the top of the OHC standings, trailing only undefeated West Jefferson and Mechanicsburg in conference play.

Triad, meanwhile, enters Friday night at 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the OHC.

The Cardinals opened the season with a 40-2 victory over Ridgedale but have struggled against a difficult stretch of conference opponents.

Triad has dropped four consecutive games, including losses to Cedarville, Greenon and Mechanicsburg. Most recently, the Cardinals fell to West Jefferson, 56-14.

That record, however, does not mean the Tigers can afford to overlook Friday night's opponent.

Conference games have a way of creating their own challenges, particularly late in the season when every team is fighting for postseason positioning and momentum. Triad will have the advantage of playing in front of its home crowd, while WLS will be looking to continue its surge.

For the Tigers, the formula has become fairly simple: protect the football, continue creating explosive plays and let a defense that just recorded a shutout dictate the pace of the game.

There is also a bit of history between these programs. West Liberty-Salem defeated Triad 42-7 in their meeting last season, giving the Tigers another reason to expect a Cardinals team ready to make Friday's contest a much different game.

With the regular season entering its final stretch, West Liberty-Salem has put itself in an enviable position.

The Tigers have gone from searching for answers after an 0-2 start to becoming one of the OHC's hottest teams. Now, the challenge is maintaining that edge.

Friday night at Triad represents another test of whether WLS can continue turning its season around — and another opportunity for the Tigers to prove that their best football may still be ahead of them.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9, at Triad High School.