Four games into the 2023 season, both Southeast and Northeast are winless.
Inexperience has been an issue for the Knights (0-4) and Vikings (0-4). Heading into Week 5's DiPasquale Moore/PrepsKC Metro Game of the Week, neither team has been able to offset injuries or the lack of depth.
But something has to give on Friday at Northeast. The Interscholastic League contest is the first of the season for both teams. One will leave with its first win of the year.
St. Joseph Benton, Van Horn, St. Mary's Academy and Knob Noster have all beaten the Vikings, who have scored just 46 points. Their closest game has been a 32 point-loss to St. Mary's.
Northeast is also without its starting quarterback, who was injured in Week 1, head coach Roger Franks said. The Vikings were shut out in its first game. They scored twice in a 47-14 loss to Knob Noster in Week 4, a single-game high this season.
"We're Improving every week," Franks said.
Southeast, in its first year in a co-opt with Kansas City Central, hasn't fared much better. University Academy handed the Knights a 50-point loss to start the season. Cameron followed with a 41-point win over Southeast in Week 2 and Truman won by 35 points in a Week 3 matchup.
In a Week 4 loss to Lexington. the Knights put up a season high 20 points.
Despite the Knights' early-season struggle, Franks, the Northeast coach, isn't looking past the Vikings' crosstown rival.
"We have to be physical and execute plays and don't give up any big plays in order to give us a chance to win the game," he said.
