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Morristown West will be searching for their first 2-0 start in region play since 2016 on Friday evening when they host Daniel Boone.

The Trojans enter Friday’s contest at 2-1 and 1-0 in the region after a big region-opening win over Tennessee High on the road. Now, the Trojans will look to put themselves in the driver’s seat in Region 1-5A when they take on the Trailblazers.

“It’s another conference game,” West coach Alvin Sanders said. “We’re playing the defending conference champs. Boone has had a stronghold on the conference for awhile now and is playing some good football. To come out, this is a game we have to have in terms of our playoff destination and seeding. It’s a very important game because of those playoff implications.”

In Friday’s win over Tennessee High, the Trojans played easily their best game of the season in all aspects of the game. As an offense West had 381 total yards, 212 in the air and 169 on the ground. As a defense, West had an interception and held the Vikings to 232 yards.

For Sanders, it was a performance he was waiting to see from his team and one he can use as an example to show what happens when the Trojans follow the game plan.

“We had a great film study because the guys are realizing and pointing out their mistakes and understanding why we do certain things,” Sanders said. “Now we’re starting to get on the same page. We were on the same page in the second half and that showed. Just a lot of growth and a lot of alignment in terms of getting on the same page.”

On the defensive side of the ball Friday, it was a team-effort. However, the Trojans defensive line really made their presence felt as they held Tennessee High to 145 rushing yards on 35 attempts. In the Vikings previous game against Sullivan East, they ran for 390 yards.

“They were outstanding,” Sanders said. “Those guys keep getting better and better. Giovanni (Chavez) and Brodey (Huskey) are leading that group. And then we had a guy like Evan (Barker) step up and have five tackles. It’s just controlling the line of scrimmage. When we do that, we make teams one dimensional. I thought they were the key to our defense this past Friday. All six played extremely hard. There was no drop off from our first team to our third team.”

Another aspect that made a difference in Friday’s game was on kickoffs as Dylan Lopez returned and booted every kickoff into the back of the endzone. Lopez’s leg and his ability to kick touchbacks is huge for West in eliminating touches for the opposition’s best athletes.

“It’s a weapon,” Sanders said. “We have to utilize it. Zeke did a good job as well. Very proud of him and he’s ready when he’s needed. But Dylan is a special talent. It sounds like a cannon goes off when he kicks it. His confidence and competitive spirit he brings to the team is huge.”

Daniel Boone enters Friday’s contest at 1-2 but 1-0 in Region 1-5A play. The Trailblazers are coming off a 35-0 win over Crockett in the Muskett Bowl after dropping their first two games to Clyde A. Erwin (NC) and West Ridge.

Boone is led by running back Aiden Riner, who rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone on Friday. Riner had 144 yards and four scores against West last season.

The Trailblazers also return quarterback Luke Jenkins. The senior QB threw a touchdown against West last season.

Defensively, the Trailblazers are led by their captain Henry Hamlin at linebacker. Hamlin didn’t play the first game of the season but leads the team in tackles with 14.

“They’ve got championship pedigree,” Sanders said. “Coach (Jeremy) Jenkins and his staff do a great job. They have their leader in Luke Jenkins who I feel has been there for forever. They also have Henry Hamlin and with him back the difference is showing. They’re going to play extremely hard. They have the same goals in mind that we do. They know what to expect from us and we know what to expect from them. It’s going to be a heavyweight title match.”

For Morristown West, the goal will be to keep the momentum going. The Trojans have had momentum through the first three games, even in their loss to Elizabethton, and want to see that through as the season progresses.

“We have built on playing extremely hard from week one to week three,” Sanders said. “The thing that we did do during the week two loss was penalties and we didn’t do that Friday. So we just want to keep riding that momentum. We’re getting better on the physical side of things and are still playing a lot of guys. If we continue that, it’ll pay dividends when we get to week eight and nine. We want to be strong heading to the backend of the schedule but if we don’t take care of business Friday night, we’ll depend on someone else. We want to control our own destiny.”

Kickoff for Friday is set for 7 p.m. at Burke-Toney Stadium.