Looking at the extended weather forecast, Moniteau coach Steve Wilson could only shake his head.

"Just once, I'd like to play Redbank on a dry field," he said.

The Warriors (6-1) host Redbank Valley (5-2) for a 7 p.m. kickoff Friday night and will try to break a four-game losing streak against the Bulldogs.

Last year's game was a 38-14 Redbank victory, played in a quagmire.

"They're calling for poor weather conditions again this Friday,"Wilson said. "They seem to play a lot better in the mud than we do."

Redbank seems to play well against the Warriors all of the time. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series between the teams 28-5-3. Redbank has won the last four meetings by scores of 38-14, 23-9, 23-16 and 33-20.

"The chances of us playing on a poor field this year are pretty good,"Redbank coach Ed Wasilowski admitted. "I've been coaching for 20 years and I can't remember another fall as rainy as this one.

"Every team should be used to playing in the mud by now. This year, everybody's had to deal with it."

Redbank is certainly used to playing against quality competition as well. A Class Aschool this season, the Bulldogs have defeated Quad-ASchenley 48-26 and Class AAClarion 35-20.

Their defeats have come to once-beaten Class AAATitusville 28-0 and undefeated Karns City 23-7.

"We had a first down at the Titusville 3-yard line, ran into a third-and-long, then threw an interception that they returned to our 20,"Wasilowski said. "That changed the whole complexion of that game.

"We've been playing schools bigger than us because it's so hard to get games anymore and we don't want any open dates. I can say this:Our kids won't be intimidated against anybody."

The Bulldogs average 28 points per game despite scoring only seven against Titusville and Karns City combined.

"We take a lot of pride in our style of defense,"Wilson said. "We don't want to get into a high-scoring battle against anybody.

"We'll play aggressive defense against every team we face."

Moniteau leads the country defensively with 145 yards allowed per game. The Warriors rank second offensively with 302 yards per contest.

The Warriors will play Friday without versatile running back Adam Cousins, sidelined for one or two weeks with a knee injury. Clay Drnek and Kyle Mauthe will get his carries in the backfield and Drnek will take over the kicking duties.

Cousins has rushed for 501 yards and 11 touchdowns this year. He also has five field goals, 17 PATs and 110 points.

"Clayton's had a week of practice (kicking) and he's doing fine,"Wilson said. "We've had time to adapt to not having Adam."

Defensively, the Warriors limited Karns City to 168 yards in a 20-18 loss last week.

"Our interior front did a great job in that game,"Wilson said. "Aaron Randall, Justin Sanderson, Brice Schwab and Justin Castello were able to force things outside."

Redbank has been running a spread attack this year and junior quarterback Jake Smith has excelled in it. Smith has thrown for 538 yards and seven touchdowns and has rushed for 343 yards and five TDs.

Fullback Alex Bladel has 820 yards rushing and nine TDs. Mike Booher is the Bulldogs' leading receiver with 18 catches for 197 yards.

"Jake is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and may be our fastest runner,"Wasilowski said. "He's an exceptional athlete. He and Alex get most of our touches now because our slotbacks are set up wide.

"We need to get the ball in Booher's hands more. That's something we've been working on."

Defensively, tackles Danny Jordan and Carter Dinger, and outside linebacker Booher, lead the Bulldogs.

Wasilowski said his team's best chance of beating Moniteau may be to get into a high-scoring battle with the Warriors.

"I'm not sure if we can control the ball and run clock against that defense,"the coach said. "Stopping their offense will be a chore. That quarterback (Tyler Armagost, 907 yards passing) has been impressive, and receivers (Cruz) Eshenbaugh, Adam Pry, Josh Loos ... I mean, pick your poison."