Pike Liberal Arts School head coach was an assistant for the Lee-Scott Academy Warriors for six years, but is quick to respond when asked where his loyalties fall.

“I coached most of those kids over there and I love them, but I am a Pike Patriot,” Kilcrease said.

He said the home game Friday night should be an interesting experience.

“It is fun to coach against those guys over there,” Kilcrease said. “Coach (Robert) Maddox and I are close. We have a good friendship and it is fun because we know after the game we will still be friends. It is a friendly rivalry.”

Friendships and past coworkers aside, Kilcrease said the No. 3-ranked Patriots cannot look past the No. 9-ranked Warriors.

“Early on this is a team who was overlooked because of a loss to Bessemer,” Kilcrease said. “They have been cruising since that loss. They are a well-coached and good football team.”

The Warriors have won five straight games and sit at 5-1 after the season-opening loss to Bessemer. They come into Delaney Kervin Stadium with some explosive players the Patriots must stop in order to keep the undefeated season alive.

“Their best playmaker is Will Garner,” Kilcrease said. “He runs the ball well and he is a hard runner with good speed.”

But the main battle in the game Friday night will be in the trenches on the line.

“They (Lee-Scott) look most impressive up front and are better than any other team we have faced this year,” Kilcrease said.

And when the Patriots have the ball Kilcrease said it will be essential to open the holes for the running backs to squeeze through.

“We have to stay on our blocks and get our backs into the secondary,” he said. “It doesn’t take much for Jerel and Douglas, but we need to create something.”

The Patriots will also conjure up motivation from last year’s 21-12 loss to Lee-Scott when they hit the field Friday.

“The kids are looking forward to this one and they remember what happened last year,” Kilcrease said. “We played our worst game of the year up there and we got our butts handed to us.”

The Patriots and Warriors kickoff at 7 p.m. from Delaney Kervin Stadium.