The Chapmanville Regional High School football team knows it.
Man (3-2), ranked No. 12 in the state in Class A, comes to town on Friday night to take on the Class AA No. 2-ranked Chapmanville Tigers (6-0).
Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
It will also be Chapmanville Regional High School's annual homecoming game.
Man comes into the game riding high after knocking off previously unbeaten Fayetteville 20-10 in Man's homecoming game last week.
The Tigers rode out a late charge by Winfield and beat the Triple-A Generals 17-12 last week at home.
A lot is at stake in Friday's clash of the county rivals.
Chapmanville needs a win to stay in the hunt for home field playoff advantage. The Tigers are also going for their second straight county championship.
Man, which climbed from 18th to 12th in this week's WVSSAC Computer Ratings, needs a win to stay in the post-season hunt.
Chapmanville coach George Barker said the Billies will be tough to beat. The Tigers trail the series with Man this decade 5-2, but have won the last two meetings.
"Man is typical for a team on our schedule. They have a very solid football team," Barker said. "Their line is good, they have good running backs, they have a good quarterback and they have a good kicking game. They are good on defense. They are just a good solid football team. We've seen this all year long. Man is good."
Man will be hungry for a win over the Tigers.
"I think anytime the county teams play each other they are dangerous opponents," Barker said. "The kids go to school together at the vocational school and they've played against each other since they've been in midget league. They know each other very well and get excited about playing each other. It's always a dangerous game when you play a county rival."
With Man's difficult schedule this year, playing Triple-A Logan and a host of 2A foes, the Billies are more like a Double-A team, many football pundits say.
"I've played against Man going back to when I've been in school and Man's always had good football tradition. Their community supports their football team," Barker said. "We expect Man to bring a good crowd down here and with it being homecoming, we expect it will be an exciting game."
Chapmanville will try to improve to 7-0 on the season with a win. The Tigers are just two wins away from matching last year's eight-win plateau.
"We knew that if we could have some success early we had a chance to have a decent year," Barker said. "We're real fortunate to be where we are. Last week's game kind of typified what the kids have done. They found a way to win. They're just good kids that love to play football. It's an honor to be around kids that feel that way. They have a passion for the game and anytime you can get a group of kids that have a passion for the game our jobs as coaches are that much easier."
Chapmanville senior running back/safety Joey Stevens missed last week's Winfield game with an injured shoulder. The injury happened in the Logan game two weeks ago.
Barker said Stevens is doubtful against Man.
It is not known if he will play or not.
"I figure that he's real doubtful," Barker said. "I'm not planning on him playing but that's up to him. His body is going to tell him if he's ready and we're not going to force him into action. As far as I'm concerned he's doubtful. I really don't think he wants that (missing his senior homecoming game) to happen. If I'm Joey I might try to find a way to get on the field but we'll not push him. He'll have to prove to us that he's ready to play. He did not practice on Monday. You just never know with those kinds of injuries. You never know with shoulder injuries."
Last week, Todd Terry played in place of Stevens in Chapmanville's backfield alongside David Wiley.
In the secondary, Chris Bailey took the safety spot.
"We thought both of those kids played extremely well for us," Barker said of Terry and Bailey. "Bailey had to go both ways a lot. Dylan Wiley came in a little bit to give him a break on offense. I was really pleased with Chris Bailey. He did a super job defensively for us. Todd is the type of player that we can play at quarterback, running back and receiver. Last week, Todd kicked a field goal, ran for a touchdown, threw a touchdown and caught a pass. He did a lot of different things for us. Those are kinds of performances that you have to have in big games.
"Not only did both of those kids play well last week, but we also thought the offensive line played well for us. Brandon Savage played well up front along with the other kids. A lot of times those things get unseen. When Todd ran in the touchdown, we just caved them in down there."
Chapmanville will also be going for its second straight county title. The Tigers beat Logan 21-6 a couple of weeks ago on the road.
"We have a lot to play for. That's what makes high school football so exciting," Barker said.
Man is led by quarterback Cory Spence and tailback Khris Tolliver.
Barker said there is no school in Chapmanville on Friday.
"We've got the parade and the homecoming game, so it should be an exciting day in Chapmanville," he said.
Andi Williamson, Poppy Ramey and Beth Baldwin are the Chapmanville Regional High School homecoming queen candidates. All three are senior members of Coach Ronnie Ooten's Chapmanville Lady Tigers softball team. The three were sophomore members of Chapmanville's 2007 Class AA state championship team.
Bucking recent tradition, this year's homecoming queen will be announced at halftime of the football game.
Logan lost to Winfield, 20-7, in last year's meeting at Winfield High School in Putnam County.
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