With two weeks left in the regular season, Cherokee has bounced back from a winless start to put itself on the periphery of a playoff spot.

In the Warriors' way, however, is the very same team they will face tonight in East Paulding. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Bone Yard.

The Raiders, who are 5-3 with a 4-3 mark in Region 5AAAAA, are tied with Harrison for the region's fourth and final postseason berth. While Cherokee (3-5, 3-4) would need to win out against East Paulding and region leader McEachern, and hope for Harrison to falter, the climb to this level is far and away from the Warriors' winless season of 2008.

"I think our offseason conditioning, and the work the kids have put in, has paid off," Cherokee coach Brian Dameron said. "I think the inexperience at times has gotten us, but when we are able to put those kinds of things together, eliminate our mistakes and play the kind of football Cherokee High School has played in the last nine years I have been there, it is very reminiscent of when we were successful in Class AAAAA in 2003 and 2004."

With consecutive wins over North Cobb, Kennesaw Mountain and South Cobb, Cherokee made one of the most promising turnarounds this season, and the mention of a possible playoff spot stands as a distant goal for Dameron at this moment, though a positive one as his team progresses.

"It is promising," he said. "Our young players are hopefully embracing what has to be done. Our seniors are doing their best to demonstrate with their work ethic and ability to get us some wins this year in (Class) AAAAA, and to get that confidence thing going again. We are a little more comfortable than where we were a year ago at this time."

What Cherokee faces this week at East Paulding is a modus operandi not too dissimilar from its own. The Raiders run a physical Wing-T attack that gravitates toward a reliable ground game led by running backs Harold Queen and Ayman Hassan.

Dameron said the Raiders, an old foe from Cherokee's Class AAAA days, will provide quite a challenge for them.

"It's a very, very tough place to play," Dameron said. "Coach John Reid has done a great job there in developing a home-field advantage. His kids play extremely hard and they are hard-nosed kids."

Including two meeting when the teams were rivals in Class AAAA, Cherokee is winless in three meetings with the Raiders. Since Reid took over at East Paulding in 2006, the Raiders are a dominating 20-3 in their home stadium.

"We haven't fared extremely well against them in three meetings, unfortunately," Dameron said. "It's another opportunity to go and play against a quality program. I think you measure yourself with other people. We will hopefully have an opportunity to see where we are at (tonight)."