It’s Oneida and Vernon-Verona-Sherrill. That’s all that needed to be said in practice this week for Matt McCoy and his Oneida team.

“It's a game they definitely circle in the beginning of the season every year," McCoy said. "We got to go over to their place this year and, you know, we're excited to get out on the field. Guys, you know, bring a different kind of energy to practice throughout the week.”

For seniors like Carter Urtz and Bryson Carinci, Friday night's game presents a chance to beat VVS on the football field for the first time as varsity players.

“Get a win in my senior season against VVS would just be the greatest thing ever," Urtz said. "We're going to make it happen this Friday.”

It’s an important game for both teams, particularly Oneida, which needs the win to improve its record in pursuit of a strong playoff spot, Carinci said.  

"We need it. We haven't beat them my whole high school career yet, so I'd like to go out with a win against them,” Carinci said.

This game means a tad bit more for McCoy, a 2014 graduate of VVS and former standout under Red Devils head coach Gary Oliver.

“I've learned a lot from coach Oliver throughout the years,” McCoy said. "We're always looking forward to this matchup we get now every year. And, you know, we're going to go out there, battle against each other just like we do against every other coach every week. But it's definitely a special one. It's exciting. But, you know, I love the opportunity to go compete and the guys are fired up for it.”

Whether good or bad, McCoy’s memories of this rivalry always come back, especially last season when VVS spoiled McCoy’s first game as Oneida’s head coach. Oneida had just 10 days, roughly, to prepare for that week zero game, McCoy said.  

"Not a lot of time to prepare and put in a system. And, you know, the guys feel like if we played them halfway through the season last year, we would have matched up a little bit better,” McCoy said. “So I know the guys are excited to go ahead and get the chance to go play them again. You know, kind of held that one close to heart last year and really want to get back and get that chance to get back at them.”  

In the grand scheme, this is just another game. But it’s a game that could breathe life into a sectionals run and should be one that’s hard fought until the end. 

“I think it's gonna be who wants it more, you know, who's going to play harder, who's going to not take any plays off — whatever team is going to play their best football pretty much," Urtz said. "We just got to keep clean football and do our jobs.”