Burlington-Edison (3-0, 5-0, 5-0) at Mount Vernon (0-0, 2-1, 2-3), 7 p.m. Friday

The Tigers have won four straight in the Battle of the Bridge game after losing the previous eight, and hold a 54-39-9 overall record against their cross-river rivals.

“They’ve been practicing a lot harder,” Tigers coach Bruce Shearer said. “It’s been more fun. The intensity has definitely gone up.”

Mount Vernon coach Jaxon Schweikert gets his first look at the rivalry.

“Every high school has rivalries and I’ve been in some big ones. “This one sounds like it’s as big as any of them. For coaches, I don’t know if it means anything different in your style of preparation or anything. But for the kids, you can always see it. We’ve had two of our best practices all year. They always have that little extra zip in them.”

This one will feature a contrast in styles between the Wing-T, run-first Tigers and the wide-open spread offense of the Bulldogs.

“They’re a tough, smash-mouth type team with multiple formations. They want to establish the run game and they’ll catch you with some play action. They’re sound defensively. They’re aggressive and fast.”

Burlington-Edison has a lot of experience and speed in the secondary to counter the Bulldogs.

The Tigers intercepted six passes last week against a similar offense from Anacortes, returning three for touchdowns.

“Our skill players are very good,” Shearer said. “We’ve got a lot of seniors. We throw the ball a lot in practice. We have to beat the Lyndens, the Prossers, the teams that throw the ball, so we work on it every day.”

Both teams come in relatively healthy. Schweikert said he anticipates being at full strength. Shearer said running back Jeff Adams may sit out to get healthy for the games against Class 2A opponents.

Oak Harbor (1-1, 2-3) at Stanwood (1-2, 1-3), 7 p.m. Friday

The Wildcats will face a Spartans team that is coming off its first win of the season and got 128 yards and three touchdowns from Archbishop Murphy transfer Brandon Gee in the victory.

“They’re much improved. They’ve got one of their better players back last week,” Oak Harbor coach Jay Turner said of Gee. “He played a heck of a game against Monroe. They really have turned a corner.”

The Spartans will face an Oak Harbor team that had trouble moving the ball in a 14-7 loss to Snohomish last week, but Stanwood coach Dick Abrams points out that they’ve got weapons on offense.

“They’re fast,” Abrams said. “They have some really good speed in the backfield and play some aggressive defense. They’re well coached.”

Abrams said the Spartans will have to run the ball well to win their homecoming game.

“The key for us is to play defense with our offense, to run the ball successfully like we did against Monroe and keep their offense off the field,” he said. “They’re a tough team to run against.”

La Conner (0-1, 0-5) at Concrete (1-0, 4-1), 7 p.m. Friday

The Braves will be looking to beat Concrete for their first Northwest 2B League win. The Lions are coming off a successful start in league with last week’s shutout against Orcas Island.

“They’ve got an experienced team with lots of speed, and that never hurts,” La Conner coach Patrick Brown said. “Over the years we’ve had to contain Chris (Smith), their quarterback, and he’s hurt us in past years. You add Derek (Rice) and the other backs and they’re pretty tough.”

Brown said La Conner will be at full strength, and added that Matt Burlingame, Brandon Drye and Tanner Wilson have been playing well for the Braves.

Concrete coach Ron Rood said the Lions will have to contend with a large, physical Braves team.

“They’re a lot better than their record is,” he said.  “They’re really physical and have good linemen and good size overall. Their backs are as big as some of our lineman.”

Mount Baker (1-3, 2-3, 2-3) at Sedro-Woolley (0-0, 1-2, 2-3), 7 p.m. Friday

The Cubs come in on a win streak, having taken two straight games.

They face a Mount Baker team that is a little more wide open than past Mountaineer squads, but still relies more on the run.

“Every game they’ve played has been a close game,” Sedro-Woolley coach Bryan Alexander said. “They’re a pretty good football team. They’ve been competitive. They’re running out of the gun, with some wide open sets now. They’re throwing the ball more than they have in the past.”

Sedro-Woolley comes in without any serious injuries, Alexander said.

“I think the key is going to be who is going to be a little more physical and who takes care of the ball better,” Alexander said.

Anacortes (0-3, 0-5, 0-5) at Bellingham (1-1, 2-3, 2-3), 7 p.m. Saturday

The Seahawks will face a Red Raiders team that runs far more than it passes and is coming off a conference win against Mount Vernon.

“They run the football really well. They’re well coached in what they do. They know what they want to do and do it well,” Anacortes coach Charlie Bell said.

He said the defense would have to play well.

“We’ve just got to maintain the line of scrimmage and tackle well. We’ve got to stay at home,” he said. “(Bellingham) does a lot of counters, cutbacks, and misdirections. We need to stay at home so we don’t over pursue.”

Anacortes quarterback/defensive back Chris Stoneham could possibly return from injury, Bell said.

Seahawks receiver/defensive back Alec Mavar, who suffered an ankle injury, may also play against Bellingham, Bell said. Brandon Rutter, however, suffered a torn ACL last week that ended his season.