When Edgewood and Northwest both played football in the Fort Ancient Valley Conference Scarlet Division — a limited body of evidence — Edgewood basically owned the series. The Cougars won the first five of the six FAVC meetings between the two teams before the Knights prevailed last season.

Edgewood hopes to get the series back on that familiar track Friday when it crosses the county line from Butler to Hamilton for a key Southwest Ohio Conference matchup with the undefeated Knights in a 7:30 p.m. game at Northwest.

The Cougars, 5-1 overall (2-1 SWOC) and second in the conference behind Northwest, Mount Healthy and Harrison, need to win to stay in the race — a fact not lost on first-year Edgewood coach Scott Clemmons.

“Talk about playing in a tough league,” the Edgewood graduate said. “There’s nobody you can look at on our schedule as an easy win. Northwest is one of those teams that’s playing great football right now. This is a big game. Our kids are focused. In practice, they’ve been dialed in to what we’re trying to do. They’ve been very coachable.”

The Knights, 6-0 for the first time in the history of a school that opened in 1973, thrive on a quick-strike offense and defense. They lead the SWOC, in its first year of existence, in scoring and passing yards on offense, led by top-ranked junior quarterback Cory Roberson and his favorite target, senior wide receiver Jamiel Trimble. The Northwest defense is sparked by senior defensive back Dominick Williams, who’s returned three of his five interceptions for touchdowns.

As accomplished as Williams has been, Clemmons believes the heart of the the Knights’ defense is their defensvie line.

“That front six makes that team so good,” Clemmons said.

Edgewood, coming off a 53-26 SWOC win over Little Miami, hopes to keep the ball out of Northwest’s hands by controlling the ball with its league-leading rushing offense, paced by senior fullback Matt Barger, who is third in the conference with 770 rushing yards.

“That’s what we’ve talked to the kids about,” Clemmons said. “We’ve got to secure the ball and play ball control and put drives together. We’ve got to limit our three-and-out possessions.”