The annual battle of the SBAAC Wildcats takes place Friday in Clermont County as Blanchester travels to Williamsburg.

A game that has been for National Division supremacy in years past is to keep out the division basement this time around. Both teams are 1-5, 0-1 going into the game.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

“They are steady on offense and look to grind you and shorten the game,” BHS coach Brandon Sammons said. “Defensively, they have some size. They struggled with some of the same things we have this season. They’re young and execution has been an issue on occasion. Should be a good match-up.”

Williamsburg lost to East Clinton 35-7 last week

Blanchester had National Division front-runner Bethel-Tate on the ropes last week but mistakes again plagued the young BHS squad.

“​We had some bright spots,” Sammons said. “(We) moved the ball on a few occasions, but dropped balls and turnovers killed us again. The sequence after half where we fumble play one, intercept the next play and fumble the return right back to them was a microcosm of our season. Same issues as all year.”

Tanner Creager had two interceptions for Blanchester against Bethel-Tate. Brent Hopkins and Cody Henson also picked off Seth Becker passes last week.

“We know this year is a learning year for a lot of these guys,” Sammons said. “But it will be served well moving forward. We have to get some traction to finish the year and see some positives to work with in the off-season. That will go a long way in helping to fix some things.”