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WOODSFIELD - Say it ain't so, Jay.

Ah, but it is. It surely is.

When the Monroe Central football team takes the field Friday night against visiting Frontier, it will be Coach Jay Circosta's 402nd game as a head football coach.

Circosta, still the Ohio Valley's all-time winningest coach despite being relentlessly pursued by Reno Saccoccia of Steubenville Big Red, has compiled an eye-popping winning percentage of better than 70 percent. This is his 39th season as a head coach, all of which has been spent patrolling the sidelines at Monroe County schools.

Including 24 seasons at Woodsfield High and now 15 years at Monroe Central, the Shadyside High and West Liberty State College product has combined for an overall record of 281-115-5. He previously served three years as an assistant, making this the 42nd year Circosta has coached high school football.

''That's a lot when you think about how much time spent during the offseason, preseason practice, the regular season and the postseason,'' Circosta said. ''While I've enjoyed all of it, if I was starting over again, I don't know if I would stay in it this long.''

If the Seminoles go on and capture a playoff berth as anticipated, it will mark the 10th time he has coached a team in the postseason. Their best finish was in 2001 when the pride of Monroe County lost to eventual state champion Bedford Chanel.

Don't fear, Monroe Central fans, Circosta isn't revealing any retirement plans at this juncture, although he remains undecided about how long he will continue to coach.

''It's become a year-to-year decision,'' the soon-to-be 65-year-old said. ''Once this season is over, I'll step back and think about everything before making up my mind about next year.''

Winning football games at every level is always about the talent level of the players and the quality of any team's coaching staff. Circosta has been able to develop and bring out the best in his players during the years. He also has benefited from working with a dedicated staff that knows him very well. There's also the loyalty thing.

''Every assistant on this year's staff played for me at either Woodsfield or Monroe Central,'' Circosta pointed out. ''It's been that way for a long time.''

Dave Schuerman, Michael Jorris, Andy Schumacher, Greg Schumacher and Josh Ischy make up the 2009 Noles staff. Pat Singleton, who also played for Circosta at Woodsfield, retired this year after a lengthy tenure as an assistant football coach.

''The continuity we have been able to maintain on our coaching staff has been very important to what we've accomplished here,'' Circosta said.

Monroe Central will bring a 7-1 record into this week's tussle against a talented Frontier club that has won 6 of 8 outings and also stands in position to snare a postseason berth in the Buckeye State.

The Seminoles, a Division V school, are holding down the top spot in Region 19 of the Ohio computerized standings. Frontier is currently third in Region 23 of Division VI.

''This is a big game for both teams in the OVAC and the Ohio playoffs picture,'' Circosta stressed.

''Frontier has an excellent football team that believes they can come here and win. Their quarterback (junior Cory Fickiessen) reminds me of the (Dalton) Smith kid from Barnesville. Both of them throw the football extremely well. Fickiessen also has a quality group of receivers that will test our secondary.''.

The only blemish this season for the Noles was a 13-0 setback at the hands of undefeated Magnolia, one of many highly regarded teams on the Monroe Central schedule. Among the Seminoles' victims have been Caldwell and Fort Frye, both of whom were undefeated at the time they faced Circosta's charges, while Shenandoah was 5-1, and Barnesville sported a 5-2 record.

In last week's 27-6 victory against the Shamrocks, Monroe Central unleashed a relentless ground attack that produced 299 yards and three touchdowns. Leading the way were sophomore running back Tyler Kinchen and senior quarterback Derek-London Dierkes as they combined for 115 and 92 yards, respectively. Dierkes also completed 3 of 7 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown.

On the season, Kinchen has rushed for 580 yards and nine touchdowns, while Dierkes has thrown for 701 yards and eight scores.

''Our overall stats could be much better than what we have,'' Circosta pointed out. ''But because of the margin of our victories, the starters have only played two full games. Most of the time, we've taken them out at halftime or in the third quarter.

''Dierkes could easily have over 1,000 yards passing but I told the kids the only stats that count are wins and losses.''

Monroe Central, which has won 14 of its last 15 games dating back to Week 4 of the 2008 season, has made excellent strides this season. The Seminoles brought back most of their skill players but needed to fill three holes on the offensive line.

The replacements turned out to be Tyler Stephens, Brock Jones and Marcus Schumacher, all of whom made the sacrifice of shifting from the backfield to the line.

''They knew as backups, they wouldn't get a chance to play much on offense. But they were willing to change to positions where they have been big keys to our success,'' Circosta added.

Frontier Coach Todd Bradford didn't need to be told the huge challenge facing the Cougars this weekend, but he believes his veteran, maturing team will be up for the task.

''The key against Monroe Central is surviving the first onslaught. They like to get on teams early. I told our kids if we can get out of the first quarter in good shape, we can play with them.''

With 12 starters returning, Frontier easily erased memories of last season's disappointing 2-8 record. The Cougars losses have come against Shenandoah by a 20-12 score and 18-12 in triple overtime two weeks ago versus Caldwell.

''Our kids came into the season with high expectations and, truthfully, we are just a couple of plays from being 8-0,'' Bradford pointed out.

In addition to the aerial game led by Fickiessen, who has passed for more than 1,000 yards for the second straight season, the Cougars rely on Reid Tildon's rushing ability. He has collected more than 400 yards in Frontier's spread offense.

''We can't afford any mistakes this week,'' Bradford reminded his players. ''Monroe is very strong up front and solid everyplace. For us to stay in the game we obviously need to keep the ball away from them as much as possible and take advantage of any turnovers that come our way.''