Photo by Seth Staskey Quarterback Carter Blake and Union Local will host Harrison Central this week in a battle of 3-0 teams.

MORRISTOWN — It seems no matter which part of Friday’s Union Local vs. Harrison Central football game that’s considered, it has a chance to be a dandy.

The Jets will welcome the Huskies to Morristown for a 7 o’clock kickoff Friday with both teams putting spotless 3-0 records on the line.

“Harrison Central is solid from top to bottom,” Union Local head coach Bernie Thompson said. “When I watched them on film, it re-assured that belief.”

The Huskies have gotten to this point of the season thanks to wins over Claymont, Buckeye Trail and Pittsburgh Perry last weekend. Head coach Anthony Hayes believes this week’s visit to the Jets will be his team’s toughest task to date.

“We’ve been facing most of these (Union Local) kids for the last three years,” Hayes said. “They’ve been excited for this (senior) class and they’re really hanging their hat on them. We’re well versed in who they are.”

While the Huskies had their hands full last week against Perry, the Jets were in Martins Ferry hanging a school-record 60 points on the Riders en route to a mercy-rule victory.

Similar to Hayes, Thompson knows what’s transpired in the first three weeks will have little to no bearing on this week’s encounter.

“We have to eliminate mistakes and simply can not have self-inflicted wounds,” Thompson said. “We need to get our ground game established early.”

Establishing the ground game hasn’t been an issue for the Jets. Despite playing without All-Ohio running back Hayden McCrate the last two weeks, the Jets have been grounded.

Senior standout Jaksan Price has rushed for 606 yards and 11 touchdowns on just 45 carries. Senior quarterback Carter Blake, who was banged up against the Riders, has accumulated 232 yards and scored four touchdowns.

“The big key for us is making sure we get off blocks and put ourselves in a position to make tackles,” Hayes said. “We can’t expect to tackle Price with one kid. If we’re able to get off blocks, we’ll be making sure we have two, three and four guys there.”

The Jets offensive line has been impressive. It’s comprised of Carson Causby, Alex Beaver, Jake Toohey, Johnny Sabinski and Evan White.

“We knew if we were going to be successful, it was going to be because of our line,” Thompson said. “We are super proud of how those guys have played. These guys know each week is more challenging and they’ve responded well thus far.”

Harrison Central’s offense is more balanced than the Jets thanks to the one-two punch of junior quarterback Hayden Cassidy and sophomore running back Mykel Quito.

Cassidy has completed 26 of 41 passes for 625 yards and five touchdowns, while Quito has ran for 342 yards and scored seven touchdowns.

Senior Tre Rex has become Cassidy’s go-to-guy in the pass game. He’s caught nine passes for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

“We are going to have to bring it defensively,” Thompson said. “We need to play our best and eliminate big plays. The quarterback is very solid and the running back is a hard-nosed kid who runs downhill and is tough to tackle.”