The Lord Botetourt football team will be back in action Friday after taking a night off due to their bye last week. LB will be at Northside Friday night for their second game of the season against the Vikings.

In the first meeting LB won 34-0 in Daleville, but don’t expect coach Jamie Harless to take them lightly. He scouted their game at Staunton River last week as Northside trailed just 14-7 at the half before the Eagles blew it open in the third quarter.

“Northside played hard, but the game got out of control in the second half,” he said. “Staunton River scored a couple touchdowns and momentum took over. Northside did a nice job defending for a half, but Staunton River wore them down.”

Staunton River and LB are battling for the top seed in the Region 3D rankings. If they meet in the playoffs that will be important, as Botetourt would much rather play at home.

Currently Staunton River, at 7-0, has a slight edge over 6-1 Botetourt. The Cavaliers only loss was to Staunton River, but LB’s win over a highly rated Blacksburg team keeps them close.

This week Staunton River will host undefeated William Byrd, a Group 4A team. Botetourt fans will keep their eyes on that score, as a Byrd win would be a big benefit to LB.

“We’re just focusing on ourselves,” said Harless. “If my calculations are correct, if we both win out I have us beating them out.”