Pleasant Home and Red Level, both improving football teams, will square off in a rivalry game at Bobby Dye Stadium on Friday night.

The Eagles and Tigers haven’t had the best of seasons so far, but both teams have high hopes for the rest of the year.

“It’s a heated rivalry game,” RLS head football coach David Godwin said. “We seem to have a lot of those this time of year. They’ve got an improving ball team, and have gotten a lot better as the weeks have gone along. They’re big and physical up front.”

PHS head football coach Chris Mason said his Eagles are similar to the Tigers, and added that it’s going to come down to has the most heart and will to win.

“We’ll see who can overcome the adversity of the season and who can maintain a good attitude through the tough times,” Mason said. “It’s hard to explain because you’ve got two teams who are struggling, and have had some injury issues. These are very similar type teams who are wanting very badly to improve.”

Leading the charge for PHS on offense is quarterback Garrett Barton. Barton has good speed and can throw the football when needed.

“He usually throws it to the right guy,” Godwin said. “We’re expecting a lot of this.”

For most of the season, the Eagles (0-6) have relied on their run game out of the Wing-T formation.

Godwin said it’s key to play assignment football.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re lined up for all of the formations,” he said. “We need to be sound in all areas.”

One of Red Level’s main threats on offense is quarterback Wesley Holley. Other than Holley, there’s also Jon Lee and Dylan Jordan.

Mason said the team’s ultimate goal is to pull out a win over the Tigers.

“We’re trying to move on and put everything behind us that’s happened,” the PHS coach said. “We’ve preached how important this game is because of the next game. We realize the mentality of the kids is going to be more confident, and that both teams can compete with each other.”

RLHS (1-5) still has its goals for the season intact.

“There are three region games left,” Godwin said. “If we take care of business, then we’ve got a shot to move one step farther into the season. Of course, the thing we go by on daily basis is to be better today than yesterday.

“We worked on fundamentals on Monday and Tuesday,” he said. “Our guys have worked hard. Unlike the past couple of years, I think our guys have stayed mentally focused. We’re not quitting. We’re working hard and staying positive.”

Kickoff in Red Level is at 7 p.m.