NORTH JUDSON - Over the last 10 years, LaVille and North Judson-San Pierre have had tough, physical high school football games. It is GAMEDAY and the 17th meeting in the series since 1985 of small school football will be on display again from Liberty Field. The 11th-ranked Lancers pay a visit to North Judson for a non-conference battle. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30pm ET LaVille leads the series, 9-7, since 1985, but the Blue Jays have split the last eight games. "When we speak of North Judson, we know it's going to be a war," said LaVille coach Jeff Kaiser. "And look forward to a well-coached team that has been a solid small school rivalry the past 6-7 years." The two teams met twice last year, with NJSP winning, 32-8, in the regular season. Then in the IHSAA sectional, the Blue Jays outscored the Lancers, 44-18. "Offensively we are going to see a ground 'n pound style offense that they have run now for several years," explained Kaiser. "If we don't stop the combination of their QB/FB/TB we will be in for a long night. Defensively they run the same defense we play and fly to the football. On both sides of the ball we can expect hard nosed football being played." Offensively, coach Brett Lambert's team rely on Ayson Harper, Aiden McGowan, Grason McDaniel to chew up real estate. "We must contain the back field of Harper, McGowen and McDaniels," said Kaiser. "Upfront they have (CJ) Sanchez and (Kaden) Johnson that will try dominating the trench." NJSP finished 14-1 a year ago and Class 1A state runner-up. The offense averaged a whopping 51.8 points per game, where they were 7-0 when scoring at least 51 points. On defense, the Blue Jays allowed just 9.0 points per outing. According to Kaiser, North Judson's "defense starts with CJ Sanchez at tackle and the linebackers of McGowen, McDaniels, Harper and Nowak." Following the graduation of quarterback Collin Czarnecki, running back Cody Allen, and all-state wide out Xzavian LaFave, Kaiser's club looks to counter with a new offensive set of players. Senior Brayden Schwitz steps in at QB, Cole Stafford at RB, Lawrence Wood, also in the backfield, and a few quality hands as receivers. Look for Noah Menis, Konnor Amor, Riley Filley, and Stafford to catch the ball for LaVille. North Judson is 0-1 following a 38-6 loss to Starke County rival Knox. Kaiser's crew, in turn, comes in 1-0 after a 28-0 victory over rival Triton. "The team that can win the field position battle, play mistake free and put points on the board when opportunity is there will come out on top Friday," concluded Kaiser. "We must play LaVille Football for 48 minutes! We hope to see Lancer Nation hit the road and cheer us on." Game On ... GAMEDAY 1A #11 LaVille (1-0) at 1A #5 North Judson-San Pierre (0-0) Game Time: 7:30pm ET Site: Liberty Field, North Judson, IN. Coaches: Brett Lambert, 60-21 in 7th year at North Judson-San Pierre. Jeff Kaiser, 18-8 in 3rd year at LaVille All-Time Series: LaVille leads North Judson-San Pierre, 9-7 Last Meeting: North Judson-San Pierre def LaVille, 44-18, Nov 8, 2024, sectional Live Stream: https://www.ihsaatv.org/?B=2543344