It is finally Rivalry Week here at Arapahoe and everyone is anticipating a great game between your Arapahoe Warriors and the Heritage Eagles. Since 1972 Arapahoe and Heritage have had one of the best rivalries in the state of Colorado. The two teams absolutely hate each other on the field, court, mat, and track. After the events in December at Arapahoe, the two schools came together to help strengthen each other and show the love and compassion for one another. But once the whistle blows to start competition, both schools go after each other once again. The two teams will take the field friday night at Littleton Public Schools Stadium.

The Arapahoe Warriors are coming off their first victory of the season over Hinkley. The Warriors fell behind in the first quarter 6-0 but answered with 20 points in the second and never looked back. The Warriors never trailed in the game again as they went on to beat Hinkley 41-26. Nick Thompson was the key factor for the Warriors. He had 201 yards on the ground, averaging about 5 yards per carry. The Warriors relied on Nick heavily as he had 41 carries in the game.  The passing game was ice cold with Fischer Conley getting his first start. He went 0-10 with two interceptions before head coach Mike Campbell put Pete Mitchell back in at quarterback. When Pete got in the game the Warriors became red hot in the passing game as he was 8-10 with only one interception. Nick and Pete showed up big for the Warriors as they needed to get their first victory of the season.

The Heritage Eagles are coming off of their third win of the season after a commanding 28-9 win over Grand Junction. The Eagles put up 14 unanswered points in the first quarter. However they would cool off, only scoring a touchdown in both the second and third quarter and being held to a goose egg in the fourth. The Eagles’ Sophomore quarterback Chase Hanson had a big night as he completed 10-13 passes with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He was the key factor to the win for the Eagles.

Friday’s game going to be a great game to watch as the Warriors and Eagles are both coming off of a big offensive performance. This game is going to come down to defense. I believe that team who hits harder, makes the fewest mistakes, and the team with the better front seven is going to come out on top. The Eagles are going to need an amazing front seven as the Warriors proved they do have a strong running game. Nick showed he is a force to be reckoned with as he put up four touchdowns on Hinkley. The Warriors secondary has to play the best game of their lives as the Eagles offense loves to throw the ball around. The “No Fly Zone” for the Warriors has to be physical for the first five yards to throw off the steps and timing between the Eagles wide receivers and the quarterback. The Warriors also need an amazing performance by their front seven as well. The defensive line this year hasn’t put a ton of pressure on the quarterback as they only have a handful of sacks this season. They need to  penetrate the line of scrimmage and get the quarterback off balance in the pocket.

Like I said before, this is going to be a game won or lost based on a team’s defensive impact. The Warriors haven’t lost to Heritage since 2007, which will give them a little edge in this one. On the  other hand, that also gives some motivation to the Eagles as they would like to have the Milk Jug, this rivalry’s traveling trophy, back in their possession. I believe Friday’s game will be a physical and emotional game that comes down to the end with the Warriors coming out on top after a game-winning field goal for a final score of 38-35.