It’s not rivalry week in high school football, but that’s not keeping a pair of the oldest and newest rivals from getting together for their annual showdowns.

On Friday night, the Westlake Rams will host archrival Sam Houston in this year’s installment of the Westfork Classic while the Jennings Bulldogs travel to DeRidder in hopes of redeeming last season’s last-second heartbreaker.

For the Rams (1-1), the game presents an opportunity to win twice in three years after seeing Sam Houston (2-0) win four of the previous five. The Broncos will be out to win their third consecutive game and put a perfect finish to their nondistrict schedule.

The rivalry is a big deal for the players and communities, but both head coaches agree that it won’t have a big affect on their teams once they hit the field.

“It’s a lot of fun for the kids and the school, it always is,” Sam Houston coach Vaughn Eggleston said. “But our guys know what they have to do, and they are prepared to go out there and execute.”

“The rivalry goes back a very long time between these two communities,” Westlake coach Shawn Demeritt said. “We are treating it just like any other game, though. We are worried about getting better, because next week is a big game as well.

“We are preparing for Sam Houston the same way we prepared for Crowley last week and the same way we will prepare for Kinder next week.”

The teams faced one another in the Lake Area Jamboree three weeks ago with Westlake prevailing 7-6, but both know they won’t be facing the same teams from that night.

“The jamboree was a long time ago and we put that behind us,” Demeritt said. “Sam Houston is a different team now who has really been clicking these last two weeks. We have a lot of respect for them and it will be a real challenge for us.”

“Westlake has continued to improve on both sides of the ball and they execute their game plans well,” Eggleston added. “They are well-coached on both sides of the ball and it will be a task for us to find any area of weakness on either side.”

The Broncos will be looking to shut down a strong Westlake passing game that features senior receiver Chris Ledet who has reeled in 10 passes for 109 yards and an area-high four touchdowns through the first two weeks.

“(Ledet) is a good athlete who has tons of speed,” Eggleston said. “It will be difficult to keep him at bay, and if our kids respond to the game plan hopefully we can at least keep him in check some of the night.”

For the Rams, the Broncos present a whole host of offensive weapons.

“The thing is, they don’t have just one weapon,” Demeritt said. “This is the most talented and skilled group I have seen at Sam Houston as far back as I can remember. I played against them in the late ’80s and early ’90s and I can’t remember them ever having this much offensive firepower.”

DeRidder vs. Jennings

The Dragons (2-0) will look to build on their 8-7 victory over the Bulldogs (2-0) last season, a win that came by way of a Daniel Crosley 30-yard punt block and return for a touchdown in the game’s closing minutes. But neither head coach is worried about last year.

“We corrected the mistake last year and moved on,” Jennings coach Rusty Phelps said.

“Last year is last year,” DeRidder coach Eric Parmley said.

Parmley knows the Bulldogs present one of the toughest tasks on his team’s schedule and what his team needs to do to win.

“We have to play well in the trenches on both sides of the ball,” Parmley said. “Jennings is a very good football team and we have to execute.”

Phelps and his team are prepared to keep an extra eye on Crosley this year, as well as the rest of the DeRidder defense.

“You always have to know where (Crosley) is at because he is very explosive,” Phelps said. “Their whole defense does a very good job though. They play really good team defense, and that allows them to get some momentum for their offense.”(Rick Hickman/American Press)