Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

When Mars and Knoch clash on the gridiron, there's no shortage of familiarity. With the two school districts bordering each other, often times, it's neighbor vs. neighbor.

“A lot of the players have known each other since they were young kids,” said Knoch coach Mike King. “There's always a lot of anticipation and I think both communities look forward to the game every year.”

“A lot of the parents of the players went to one of the schools themselves,” said Mars coach Scott Heinauer. “Rivalries like the one we have with Knoch are what high school football is all about.”

The teams first met in 1958 and played each other every year through 1983. The Knights dominated that stretch, winning 20 of the 26 meetings.

King was part of three of those victories, playing on the offensive and defensive lines for Knoch in 1979 (24-0), 1980 (40-14) and 1981 (3-0).

He was exposed to the rivalry long before that. His father, Bob, was the Knights' head coach from 1969-75. In that span, Knoch held a slight 4-3 edge in the meetings with the Planets.

“It was a heated rivalry at that point,” said Mike King.

In 1980, the Knights moved to Class AAA and by 1984, the showdown was put on hold for nearly a quarter of a century. Then in 2008, Mars was bumped up to Class AAA. With Knoch High School sitting less than 12 miles away, it was a no-brainer that the Planets would be placed in the Greater Allegheny Conference, where the Knights had resided for years.

Both teams have represented the GAC in the WPIAL playoffs the last four seasons. The last three conference titles have been won outright by either Mars (2010, 2012) or Knoch (2011).

“It's such a big game, partly because we're now in the same section,” said King. “Every time we play them, there seems to be some sort of playoff positioning on the line.”

The Planets won the first three meetings following the matchup's revival (2008-10), but Knoch has taken the last two, including last season's 21-0 shutout of the Planets at the Mars Athletic Complex. Mars entered that game with a perfect record of 6-0. For the Knights, it was the first of three straight victories to close the regular season.

“That win definitely helped drive us to a playoff spot,” said Knoch senior lineman Connor Shinsky. “Everybody on the team gets up when it's Mars week.”

Obviously, the Planets saw last year's result from a different angle.

“We were probably predicted to win that game and thought we'd be able to, but they (Knights) clearly outplayed us,” said Mars senior quarterback Owen Nearhoof.

While both coaches understand the heightened emotions that come with playing a rival, they walk a fine line while preparing their teams for the game.

“One benefit is that you don't have to say to the players, 'Listen up,' during the week leading up to the Mars game,” said King. “Everybody is on the same page because there is a bit of a sense of urgency.

“On the other hand, getting up for a rival becomes instinctive over time. As a coach, you have to be concerned with that because you want your team to have the same level of intensity every week.”

While Mars-Knoch games are hard-fought contests, they don't include many cheap shots.

“I think it's a clean rivalry,” said Heinauer. “Our kids look forward to playing them every year.”

That's the way games like this are often played, according to King.

“I played college football at Lafayette,” he said. “Lehigh was definitely our biggest rival, but it was also the cleanest game of the season.”

The Knights and Planets meet this season Oct. 11 on Knoch's turf.

“Knoch's our main rival and every game we play against them is big,” said Nearhoof, “but with the way things turned out last season, we definitely want to beat them this year.”

Mars and Knoch first met on the gridiron in 1958. To date, the teams have played each other 31 times, with Knoch holding a 22-9 edge. Following are game-by-game results of the rivalry.<B>Year Winner Score </B>1958 Mars 34-61959 Knoch 18-121960 Knoch 20-71961 Knoch 12-71962 Knoch 19-61963 Knoch 26-191964 Knoch 20-71965 Knoch 28-131966 Mars 12-01967 Knoch 26-01968 Mars 7-01969 Knoch 27-81970 Mars 42-121971 Knoch 33-61972 Knoch 30-121973 Mars 27-01974 Mars 7-61975 Knoch 18-31976 Knoch 28-141977 Knoch 23-01978 Knoch 27-141979 Knoch 24-01980 Knoch 40-141981 Knoch 3-01982 Knoch 21-131983 Knoch 34-62008 Mars 28-02009 Mars 7-32010 Mars 23-122011 Knoch 28-32012 Knoch 21-0