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LAYTON — Layton High football can move to 3-0 for the first time since 1987, but doing so won't be easy against Northridge, which owns a six-game winning streak in the rivalry.
But as the previous 23 meetings between the two schools have shown, anything is possible when the Lancers (2-0) and Knights (2-0) get together, as they will Friday at 7 p.m. MT at Layton.
"We were a little disappointed that our region changed and we wouldn't be playing them," Northridge center Brogan Poll said. "But then we heard that we had the (non-region) game with them, we were all stoked.
"We didn't want to miss out on one last rivalry game."
Being less than four miles apart and with friends on both sides of the school boundaries, there is no shortage of conversation between Layton and Northridge. That includes the Knights' recent run of form over their buddies from Layton.
"It's definitely a difficult thing to take down," said Layton receiver Julian Blackmon, a recent Utah commit. "You have friends who go to that school, and they talk about it going to be seven years in a row. It's just smack and I just let them talk.
"We'll just practice hard and then show them up on the field."
Both teams are feeling good about themselves as both are unbeaten thus far.
"Nobody wants to get that first loss, especially not against your rival, that's for sure," said Northridge's Cyrus Daniels, a recent transfer to the Knights. "You get bragging rights until next year. I'm excited, and I think the team is, too. We're pretty confident in ourselves.
"We just believe that if we play our game, nobody can beat us."
Layton averaged a 25-point margin of victory in its first two games. But Blackmon knows that doesn't really matter come Friday night.
"It's really good for us to go against these guys," Blackmon said. "It's our first big test (of the season). It's always fun to go up there and them come here and pound out to try to come out with the W."
In other top games, Bingham tries to avenge last season's loss in Las Vegas to national powerhouse Bishop Gorman, which comes into South Jordan as the No. 1-ranked team in the nation by USA Today and MaxPreps.
The Miners are ranked seventh in the country by the newspaper's computers, and there will be plenty of national interest for this game that is projected to draw more than 20,000 people.
Jordan, which faces Pleasant Grove this week, hasn't skipped a beat after the graduation of state record-holding quarterback Austin Kafentzis. Senior Drew Lisk has the offense rolling and wide receiver Spencer Curtis ranks among the top receivers statistically in the country.
Pleasant Grove was humbled by last Friday's loss in Loomis, California, shut out by Del Oro, 41-0 — and the Vikings would like nothing more than to erase those memories with a win over a top-five opponent.
In a rematch of last year's Class 5A state semifinals, No. 2 Brighton hosts American Fork. the Bengals survived a road game last at Fremont last week, which saw Hunter Albert fill in admirably for injured quarterback Drew Jensen.
The Cavemen traveled to Pocatello, Idaho, and fell to BYU quarterback Taysom Hill's alma mater at Highland, and the Bengals will be out for revenge after last season's crushing loss, one game away from the state title game.
Another rivalry game is happening in Northern Utah, in Cache Valley. Logan and Mountain Crest are no longer in the same region — or even the same classification — but none of that matters Friday night. The Mustangs are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2008, while the Grizzlies fell last week to their other Cache Valley rival, Sky View.
Logan wants desperately to avoid the same situation in its other local spotlight.
