MAN — Just two more wins.

That’s all the Man High School football team needs to reach the Class A state championship game at Wheeling the first weekend of December.

It’s been a long time since the Hillbillies have been that far — 25 years to be exact. That was when former coach Tootie Carter took Man to the Class AA state championship game. The Billies ended up falling in the 1984 state title game, the third time it had done so with the other runner-up finishes coming in 1977 and 1980, also under Carter.

Now, the Billies are in business again. With a victory tonight over Fayetteville, Man will be in the Class A state semifinals over Thanksgiving Weekend for the right to make it to Wheeling Island Stadium. Man hasn’t been that far in 20 years when the No. 1-ranked Billies lost 15-14 in 1989 to East Bank in the Double-A semifinals.

Historical implications are all over the place on Friday night as No. 2 Man (10-1) battles with No. 7 Fayetteville (9-2). Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Man’s George A. Queen Memorial Field.

“We can’t help but think about it,” Man coach Harvey Arms said, when asked about the historical importance of Friday night’s game. “But we’re taking it one game at a time. To get there, we’ve got to win this one. We told our kids that this is the big one. We’d certainly like to be in the final four or the final two but we’re taking it one at a time and we’re focused on Fayetteville.”

Man is 3-3 in the playoffs under Arms.

In 2004, Coach Arms’ second year as the head mentor, No. 13 Man lost 47-0 at Weirton Madonna.

Then in 2005, ninth-seeded Man won 14-0 at Hamlin before falling 26-12 to top-ranked Williamstown.

After missing the post-season in 2006 and 2007, the Billies reached the playoffs again last fall where No. 9 Man won 27-6 at Mount Hope and gave eventual Class A state champion Williamstown all it could handle before losing 21-16 to the No. 1 Yellow Jackets.

Man made it to the 1997 playoffs in the second-to-last season of the Coach Carter era. That year, Man beat Clay County, 33-14, at home and was eliminated, 27-7, at No. 1 Bluefield.

Carter led Man to the 1984 Class AA state finals but the Hillbillies fell 14-10 to Grafton. Man beat St. Marys 34-0 in the semifinals and also scored a 38-0 first-round victory over Big Creek.

Man also reached the 1981 2A state semifinals but lost 22-19 in overtime to top-ranked Magnolia. The Billies won 26-0 over Milton in the first round.

Back in 1980, Man lost 18-13 to Ceredo-Kenova in the state championship game after scoring a 28-14 win over Poca in the semifinals and topping Hinton 21-6 in the first round.

In 1979, the Billies also reached the state semifinals but were upended 20-0 by Buffalo. The Billies won 21-7 over Iaeger in the first round.

A year before in 1978, Man was also a Class AA semifinalist but fell 28-7 to the C-K Wonders. Man was a 28-20 winner over Greenbrier West in the opening round.

In 1977, Man also reached the Class AA state title game but lost 20-6 to Poca. The Billies won 14-8 in overtime over Greenbrier West in the state semifinals.

Arms said Man is healthy heading into tonight’s clash.

“We’re in good shape. We’re fully loaded,” Arms said.

Arms said the home playoff atmosphere was fantastic last week.

“Last week, there were people starting to gather for the game at 4:30,” he said. “We had a nice, enthusiastic crowd supporting our team. We look for the same thing this Friday. We appreciate the way the fans do support us.”

For those arriving early at tonight’s game there will be a pre-game tailgate party at 5 p.m. in front of the old Frank’s Pizza building. There will be free hot dogs, chips, pop and cakes for the fans.