FRANKLIN—No matter the records. The fact that it is not a district game doesn’t matter. For the fans, this is the game of the year.

Franklin vs. Southampton.

The two rivals, who appear to moving in different directions, meet in Franklin at

7 p.m. Friday.

Franklin (1-0), which won its opener 28-24 on the road at Northampton, is somewhat of a mystery so far, since no one has seen it play in the area. VirginiaPreps.com has caught on, though. The website, dedicated to high school football and basketball, has ranked the Broncos fourth in the Single A, Group A top 10. Franklin has had a week off to prepare for the Indians after pulling out the Northampton game at the end. A win over Southampton, a Double A school, would likely move Franklin up in the state rankings.

The Indians (0-1), on the other hand, are fresh off a 52-13 shellacking by Tabb. The Tigers exposed many holes in the Southampton game.

Head coach Littleton Parker said his team is going back to the drawing board this week during practice to try to shore up some of the problems, which included a rough kicking game, and poor play on the offensive and defensive line.

Southampton, 7-3 last season, knocked off Franklin last year. The Indians need a win to jump start a season which will get no easier in the tough Bay Rivers District.

Southampton will run the multiple I formation against Franklin with quarterback Sidney Rawls at the controls. Although the offensive line played poorly against Tabb, Rawls had his moments, including a 55-yard run, which led to a touchdown, and a 43-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Revelle.

The Broncos will run a power I with Donzell Shearin guiding the offense.

For Southampton, this is the game that almost didn’t happen. The Bay Rivers District now has 11 teams with the addition of Warhill High School in Williamsburg. The Indians had to petition the league to keep the Franklin game on the schedule. Because of the rivalry, the contest is always the biggest gate of the season for whoever hosts the game.

The district allowed Southampton to draw a name and drop a team for two years. That team is Lafayette, one of the stronger teams in the BRD. Judging by last year’s crowd in Courtland for the Franklin tilt, that was a smart move.

&uot;That is the only way we could keep Franklin on the schedule,&uot; Coach Parker said. &uot;It’s always a big money-maker and we can’t afford to lose that gate.&uot;

The fans wouldn’t have it any other way.

In other games:

* Isle of Wight Academy goes for its third straight win with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Kenston Forest. IWA beat Hampton Christian 50-13 while Kenston Forest fell to Southampton Academy 28-21.

* Windsor (1-0), which suffered a 24-20 loss to Northampton last week, is on the road again this week at Northumberland at 7 p.m.

* Southampton Academy (1-1), which beat Kenston Forest 28-24 last week, hosts Fuqua School at 7:30 p.m.

* Tidewater Academy (0-3), which fell 44-8 to Blessed Sacrament Huguenot last week, plays at Chincoteague at 7:30 p.m.

* Nansemond-Suffolk Academy (0-2) plays its home opener against Norfolk Christian at 7 p.m.

* Smithfield (1-1, 0-1), which fell 16-13 to Bay Rivers District power Lafayette, will play at Jamestown (1-1, 1-1) in a BRD matchup at 7:30 p.m.