BUFFALO TWP — A fish might have the best seat in the house when Freeport hosts nearby Allegheny 6 Conference rival Knoch on Friday night.

Named after a road that runs through both of the neighboring school districts, the Pike Trophy has been with the Yellowjackets (6-1, 2-0) since their 28-14 win over the Knights last September.

“We’ve had the trophy up above the lockers,” Freeport coach John Gaillot said. “We brought it down and put it on a table right there in front where we walk out. We’ll take it down like Knoch did last year and (put it) back in the corner of an endzone.”

His side will look to keep hold of the plaque, which was introduced to the series last year. With the luck they’ve had to this point, the winless Knights (0-7, 0-2) would be thrilled to pry it away.

“I’ve lost a lot of sleep and my blood pressure’s went up,” Knoch coach Tim Burchett said. “It’s been that kind of year. We were two quarters away from being a 4-3 team. That’s the thing that hurts the most is how close we’ve been.”

“They’re by far the best 0-7 team that I’ve seen,” Gaillot said. “They just had some missteps. A couple quarters here and there, I totally agree.”

The crews are well-acquainted, which makes for a heightened atmosphere.

“Our kids are up for this game,” Burchett said. “It’s something that, they (the teams) talk to each other. It’s, like, seven miles away.”

Sophomore signal-caller Codi Mullen, junior tailback Exzavier Johnson, and senior tight end Jake Murphy propel a capable, but inconsistent attack. Their coach pointed out that mistakes such as a missed block, an inaccurate throw, or a bad route have held the unit back.

“You could rep it Tuesdays and Wednesdays until you’re blue in the face, but there’s something about Friday nights that you just can’t quite replicate,” Burchett said. “We just need to put a full game together.”

One thing that’s hard to manufacture in preparing for the contest is the strength of the Freeport defense, which has given up more than 15 points on only one occasion this campaign. Still, Burchett is optimistic about the plan he and his staff have put together.

“I think they have some certain checks and things that they do (in response) to certain things that we can hopefully take advantage of,” Burchett said. “But, again, we had plays wide open against Shady Side and we didn’t execute.

“I did a breakdown of the game on Friday and we left on the field 220 yards of offense ... just with dropped balls.”

Gaillot concurs that execution is of the utmost importance.

“Usually, with rivalry games, it’s who makes the least amount of mistakes,” he said. “We have a lot of respect for Knoch. Coach (Todd) Durand teaches there ... It’s basically brother against brother. We like to compete against each other, we like to beat each other, but we’re pretty good friends, too.”

North Hills defeated Shaler last week, 35-23. SV won at Hempfield, 42-12.

Both teams are riding winning streaks entering this game. After losing its first 4 games of the season, North Hills has won 3 straight; The Raiders have won their last 4 contests, all on the road.

The Indians’ Cooper Thompson had his best rushing performance of the season last week, gaining 102 yards and scoring a TD. He added a score on a punt return. While defeating Shaler, the Indians did struggle against the pass, allowing 3 receiving TDs to the Titans’ Joe DeSabato.

Raiders’ senior WR Luke Lawson leads Butler County with 35 catches for 491 yards and 5 TDs. SV’s 8 interceptions on defense have come from seven different players. Senior DE Aiden Lyczek has recorded 9 of the team’s 22 quarterback sacks.

SV defeated North Hills last year, 17-7.

Avonworth beat Beaver last week, 29-3. North topped Hampton, 13-7 in overtime.

RB Luke Hilyard paces the Antelopes with 717 rushing yards and 11 TDs, but did not play last week. Instead, 3 other players found the end zone on the ground — Nate Harper, Brandon Biagiarelli and Nico Neal. Avonworth’s lone loss this season was a 37-22 setback Sept. 2 to defending WPIAL and state champion Central Valley

North junior QB Kaden Sarver had been the backup to Jason Siket, but the former entered last week’s game and threw the winning TD pass in overtime, 19 yards to Gavin Kamody.

The teams last met in a WPIAL Class 3A semifinal playoff last year, with North earning a 7-0 victory. The Trojans are now a Class 4A team.

Smethport suffered a 42-6 defeat to Ridgway last week. Union/A-C Valley is coming off a 42-14 loss to Port Allegany.

Smethport’s only victory this season was a 22-6 decision over Cameron County in Week 2. In their other 6 games, the Hubbers have scored a total of 34 points.

The Falcon Knights’ run to last year’s District 9 championship game was sparked by a powerful ground game, one that averaged 216 yards per game. This year, the output is down to 136 per contest. Junior Luke Wilson leads the Falcon Knights with 50 tackles.

The Falcon Knights beat Smethport, 14-8, in a District 9 Class 1A semifinal last November.

The Warriors became undefeated Central Clarion’s latest victim last Friday in a 46-14 road loss. Punxsutawney lost a close one at Karns City, 15-13.

On the ground for Moniteau, senior Hunter Stalker has been the team’s bell cow. He’s carried the ball 115 times and 547 yards. Both surpass his totals from a season ago. The Warriors have lost each of their five away matchups by a combined 150-40 score.

The Chucks started their campaign with wins over Bradford and Kane; then tapered off going through a gauntlet made up of Redbank Valley, Central Clarion, and St. Marys. Those three teams are a combined 19-2 at this point.

Slippery Rock fell short in a home contest against Sharon, 20-6. The Greyhounds were outlasted against General McLane, 22-19.

The Rockets’ loss was their third in four weeks. Before that rough patch, Slippery Rock was out to a 3-0 start. The offense was held scoreless in the final three frames of its clash with the Tigers, while talented senior QB William Mokel was limited to 84 passing yards.

Wilmington is pushing through a three-game losing streak, with the defeats coming at the hands of Sharon, Farrell, and the Lancers.

The Knights suffered their fourth straight loss, a 40-12 decision at Riverview Friday night. Shenango was on the wrong side a 15-13 contest with South Side.

Summit Academy has conceded 44.4 points per game thus far, the second-most in WPIAL Class 1A, behind only winless Frazier (48.1).

Shenango’s lone win so far this fall was a 75-19 shellacking of Northgate. They had 574 rushing yards in that contest.

These teams last played in 2017, with Summit Academy winning, 22-15.