The second Friday Night Matchup of the high school football season features two teams who are only separated by ten miles. Whitesboro will travel to Rome Free Academy Friday night at 7 p.m., a game you can see on Spectrum News.

The last time the two teams met on the Black Knights home turf was back in 2012. The reason the two don’t square off often is because RFA is in Class “AA,” while the ‘Boro is in Class “A.”

When it comes to Class “A,” Whitesboro has been the team to beat over the last five years. Tom Schoen, who’s currently in his 45^th season at the helm has won three straight section titles. “I’m one of the few people that can tell their kids, you’re one of the best teams on every one of your opponents schedule,” Schoen said at practice on Wednesday. “I think it’s good for us because it allows us to coach at a very high tempo.”

Over at RFA, the Black Knights have only had one winning season since 2012. This year, they have a new coach running the show, but he’s not really a newcomer. Before coming to RFA, Jake DerCola was the head coach at Utica Notre Dame, leading the Jugglers to a 28-10 record along with a pair of Class “C” section titles in four seasons. “That’s the one thing I’m trying to bring back is the hard-nosed football,” said DerCola. “It’s trying to make it fun out there, make it very competitive, win games and play for something at the end.”

RFA is coming off a 13-12 loss to Nottingham in their opener last weekend. The Black Knights will be looking to bounce back in week two. Tune in to Spectrum News Friday night to watch. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.