GRAND MEADOW —It’s like deja vu all over again for the Grand Meadow football team.

For the second straight year, they’ll face Waubun in the Minnesota Class nine man football state semifinals, and for the second straight year they’re trying to figure out a way to contain Waubun’s speedy quarterback Peyton Syverson — who leads a Bomber rushing attack that features a lot of misdirection.

“Our coaches come up with the game plan and we’ve just got to implement it,” GM junior Zach Myhre said. “We’re trying to corral their quarterback so he has nowhere to cut back, because he’s really quick.”

GM (12-0 overall) trailed Waubun (12-0 overall) early in last season’s semifinal game and the Superlarks didn’t pull away until the second half in a 35-20 win. This year the teams will square off in a new venue and a new time as they kickoff in US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis at 9 a.m. Friday.

With a win over the Bombers, GM will play in its fifth straight state title game as it pursues its fourth straight state title. If they want to advance, the Superlarks will have to avoid chasing plays against Waubun’s offense.

“The biggest key for our defense this week is playing team defense,” GM head coach Gary Sloan said. “We need everyone to play their own responsibility and trust the guy next to them. If we start being too aggressive and flying all over the place, we’ll create seams and Syverson will take advantage of that.”

To prepare for the early kickoff and indoor atmosphere, the Larks have been holding 6 a.m. workout sessions in the GM Gym. The Larks have also done a lot of preparation in the film room as GM senior Connor King pointed out.

“[Coach] Anthony Stesjkal does a lot to prepare our defense and he a watches a lot of film,” King said. “There’s a lot of pride in our defense and we want to go out there and execute for [coaches] Anthony, Deke [Stejskal] and Josh [Bain]. We don’t want to let those guys down.”

GM is coming off a 36-0 win over Edgerton-Ellsworth where it didn’t complete a pass against the Flying Dutchmen’s tall front line, but the Larks are expecting the passing game to bounce back this week. The Bombers are coming off a 41-18 win over Stephen-Argyle Central.

As the clock ticks, the Superlarks are getting a bit antsy to play on Friday. Myhre said the team has had to learn to stay patient.

“There’s a lot of anticipation. I think a lot of just want to get to Friday,” Myhre said. “There’s a lot of stuff that leads to it and we just want to get there, because there’s a lot of waiting.“