This is what everyone wanted to see, what rivalries are all about.
Mount Carmel and North Schuylkill each come into tonight's game at the Silver Bowl with perfect 6-0 marks,.
By the time the clock strikes midnight, one will have its first blemish.
Both teams want the same things from the game: A) to win, B) to be the team that ruins the other's perfect mark and C) to lend some legitimacy to their records.
Apart from Mount Carmel's win over Lewisburg in Week 2, neither team has been challenged much.
The Red Tornadoes had a gut-check game against Central Columbia (2-4) last week and prevailed 33-24. They also have relatively easy wins over Selinsgrove (1-5), West Perry (2-4), Loyalsock (1-5) and Montoursville (2-4).
At the same time, North Schuylkill was being held to its lowest point total in two years, but still came away with a 12-7 victory over Tamaqua (2-4). The Spartans haven't been taxed by their cumulative schedule either, with wins over Shenandoah Valley (4-2), Minersville (5-1), Jim Thorpe (0-6), Schuylkill Haven (2-4) and Marian (3-3).
A win will also give either team much needed bonus points in their respective district races.
Mount Carmel trails unbeaten Mifflinburg by 70 points in the District 4 Class AA rankings for the top spot, while North Schuylkill is behind Pen Argyl (740) and Pine Grove (690) with 680 points.
"The importance of this game is the valuable points available," Mount Carmel head coach Carmen DeFrancesco said. "We are in a heated race for the top spot, and we would love to as high a seed as we can get."
District 4 is set up for eight teams in the AA playoffs - District 11 only takes four - and all games are played at the home field of the higher seed, and both Mount Carmel and North Schuylkill lost on the road in their respective district playoffs.
"Our kids feel comfortable at home," DeFrancesco said.
The Red Tornadoes have been pointing to this game since January, DeFrancesco said, and at 6-0 going into it, it's the exact place they wanted to be.
"It's been a goal and it's staring us right in the face," DeFrancesco said.
While North Schuylkill's most recent trouble connecting in the passing game was this week's cover story, Mount Carmel had a less than stellar passing effort against Central Columbia.
After going 0-for-9 as a team, DeFrancesco has been working his players hard.
"We have to get the passing game going," he said. "It's widely known, if you're going to play us, load up the box. Our passing has been inconsistent."
North Schuylkill allowed 114 yards passing last week to Tamaqua on just four completions, and two of those were for big chunks near the end of the game.
North Schuylkill head coach Rick Geist thinks his team can play better than that and is challenging them to come to play this week.
"We haven't played our best yet," Geist said.
Injuries have been a problem for a team that was worried about depth issues in the preseason, but the lack of personnel is catching up with the Spartans.
"Last week was a horrible week of practice," Geist said. "We haven't practiced with who we thought were our first-team guys all year. We had seven or eight guys on the sideline last week without pads on."
Either way, this is still Mount Carmel and North Schuylkill. No fancy trophies, or outrageous banners, just good hard-played football.
"If you can't get up for this game, there's something wrong with you," DeFrancesco said.
North Schuylkill is looking for its first-ever third straight win over the Red Tornadoes, while Mount Carmel has another milestone in mind.
If the Red Tornadoes happen to win it will mark the 800th victory in school history, which includes wins as both Mount Carmel High School and Mount Carmel Area.