You would think that two schools that are within 30 minutes might have a history together. In every other sport, they do. But, on Friday night, when West Branch (7-0, 5-0) travels to Stanwood to take on North Cedar (8-0, 5-0), it will mark the first ever varsity football meeting between the two school. t 6. It may as well be for a district title, Cedar County supremacy, and bragging rights. This just in: they are playing for exactly that...and so much more. Combined, the two teams have given up 43 points. That is in 16 games. The Knights, have allowed only seven. In district play, North Cedar has yet to give up a single point. So, I guess you could say this is a statement game for both teams. "We have had this game circled on the calendar for a few weeks." says Bear senior Logan Murry. "(North Cedar) plays a lot like we do. So we will have to be at our best to beat them." North Cedar uses all of its three-headed backfield to chew up yardage, and time off of the clock. They are led in rushing by senior Donny Wachendorf (83 carries, 730 yards, 15TD) and senior Mitchell Schroeder (73-555-6TD). Fullback Tyler Canfield also has over 300 yards rushing. The Knights are definitely not a one trick pony. "They come at you with a lot of guys." said West Branch senior Rilen Carew. "They are tough. They are quick. They are big." The straw that stirs the Knights' drink is junior quarterback Jordan Hay. At 6'6", 185 pound, he is an intimidating figure. He also imposes a pretty intimidating ability to run an offense. To date, Hay has amassed 1117 yards of total offense. He has rushed for over 400 yards, on just 43 carries. Jordan has also completed 39 of 70 passes for 715 yards and eight touchdowns. He has only given up one interception this season. West Branch will certainly be keeping an eye on where Hay is on the field. "Their quarterback is a really good athlete." proclaimed West Branch assistant coach Jared Tylee. "He can really run the football well. He makes good decisions." The Knights have the number one offense in the district, The Bears are number three. By total defense, in yardage, the Bears are number one and the Knights are number two. This game features the two best kickers in the district in Brandon Young for the Bears, and NC's Canfield. Something has got to give. "It is a battle of two powerhouse type teams." West Branch senior Travis Maher said. "We are like each other. To be them, we are going to have to maintain focus and just play hard." For West Branch, they have been in this position before - having won 15 conference or district titles since 1989. North Cedar has been playing in 2A football for most of the school's existence, which is just over 10 years. According to the IAHSAA preseason stat book, the Knights have never made it to postseason play. Until 2010, that is. Winning this game would mean a great deal to the Knights. Winning a district title would be the icing on the cake. The Bears understand this. "You always like to win a district title," says Bear Head Coach Butch Pedersen. "It means you have won the most games in your league. It (also) means you definitely use it as a springboard into the playoffs." Some of the members on the West Branch squad were around last year and played on a 12-1 state semi-finalist team that won a district title along the way. But, for a few guys, this truly is a new experience. "It would be awesome (winning a district title)." states sophomore Bo Bower. "It is my first chance as a player. I think it will take all we have to get it done. North Cedar is a good team." Bower is one of three sophomores playing at the varsity level for West Branch this season. Along with fullback/defensive end Cade Jones and offensive guard/linebacker Garett Lynch, they all have been great additions to the Bear squad this year. For senior captain Jake Sheyko, this is the last chance to dance. "To win this game would really mean something." said the Bear wide receiver and safety. "It means you go undefeated. It means that you add to the things that have happened before you at this school." In North Cedar, it would be their first Class 1A district championship. It would mean they have knocked off the always powerful West Branch football team. The winner of this game will have the opportunity to host a playoff game for the first two rounds, should they win their substate game. That game, which will be played next Wednesday night, will be against either Clayton Ridge or Turkey Valley. The winner of the TV-CR game gets the loser of the NC-WB game, but the loser gets to travel to and play the undefeated District 6 champion. Baby steps. To the victor go the spoils, of course. But, in football, there are many established truths and rules. Those are not lost on Bear first year assistant coach Brad McCloskey. "These are the games that you play for." says the coach and new WB Middle School science teacher. "This is what you start working for back in August - for games just like this." As of Wednesday, October 20 at 10:00am, this is who has committed to cover the game: WMT-600AM radio (Game of the Week), KWWL-TV7 (Game of the Week), Iowa City Press-Citizen (Game of the Week), and the Cedar Rapids Gazette (Game of the Week). It does not take a newspaper of television station to let you know this game means a lot. All of the drama. The hoopla. It all leads to one thing. McCloskey will tell you that. "It the kids cannot get up for a game like this, then you shouldn't be playing football. It's going to be a beautiful week." GAME NOTES: - This is just the first time since district play was introduced by the IAHSAA in 1992 that West Branch has played the final game for the outright district championship. Meaning, they have never played against a team who has still had title aspiration. - Quarterback Brandon Young, for the Bears, has completed 48 of 81 passes for 1084 yards. He also has 12 touchdowns. The single season school records for yardage and touchdowns are owned by Caleb Walter, set in 2006. Walter threw for 1620 yards and collected 20 passing touchdowns. - Lincoln-Stanwood, who is part of the consolidated North Cedar district, was a playoff qualifier in 1993..before many of the current players were born. - West Branch looking to complete its ninth undefeated regular season in the last twenty played. They also have six seasons with just one loss. www.westbranchfootball - 'The Bear Facts'