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Cambria Heights handed second-year River Valley coach Ed Dalton his only loss in the Heritage Conference a year ago, and neither he or his team has forgotten.
The Panthers enter Friday's game in Blairsville on a nine-game conference winning streak after they decimated Penns Manor, 42-12, in this year's opener.
But Dalton wasn't impressed when asked what his team did well.
"Nothing," Dalton said. "We didn't play very well. It was one of the worst games ever. We didn't play very well. We were sloppy. We didn't line up right. We dropped five exchanges. We were just way better than the team we played. We have a lot to address."
Part of that had to do with an unusual lead up to kickoff.
"We had a terrible Friday in that they scheduled pictures on the day of the game," Dalton said. "It was like a five-hour gauntlet. It was like nothing I have ever been through. It was nobody's fault. It's just we have new photographers from out of town, and that was the only day they had. It was a nightmare."
Last year's game was like a bad dream for River Valley, which wasn't competitive in a 35-7 loss. The Panthers rebounded to win the rest of their regular season games and share the Heritage Conference title with Heights and Marion Center.
"I think it's going to be a game both of us are looking forward to," Cambria Heights coach Jarrod Lewis said. "I felt like last year, we had some breaks go our way in that game. But you could see them getting better. They are returning (Jake) Woodring, (Max) Persichetti and a couple really solid linebackers on defense. They have a line with a lot of great size and return a lot of good players. We return some players. Both of us were picked No. 1 and No. 2 in the preseason. When you have a game that has the preseason conference favorites, that game will get a lot of attention."
Cambria Heights also won in blowout fashion the first week in a 50-7 triumph over United Valley.
"I thought our effort was great," Lewis said. "We saw a lot of good stuff. We had some very good blocks. We had some great runs and some good passes and catches. Defensively, I thought we flew to the ball well. I thought we tackled and covered pretty well at times. But we made some mental mistakes, typical first-game jitters. We are going to be pushing for that consistency."
Dalton is also looking for that from his team.
"We have a lot of talent, but we have to play better," Dalton said. "From Week 1 to Week 2 intramurals end. You go one more rotation, you play someone one out of three series, those things end. They are definitely ending for us. We had three pretty good players that we held out on Friday because of the abundance of caution. A big lineman, a really good defensive lineman and one of our linebackers. They will all be back."
Cambria Heights certainly has the veteran coach's attention.
"They do what they do and are very well coached," Dalton said. "They have a couple veterans. I like to go back and try to see what they remind me of, and offensively they remind me of old Ernie Fetzer teams. They have so many nuances to not very complicated formations that give you a handful of adjustments."
In the same way Woodring and Persichetti stand out to Lewis, Heights has players that Dalton says jump off the film.
"They have some very good players," Dalton said. "The coach's son (Bryce Lewis) is very good. (Nolan) Clawson is very good. (Colton Strong) is very good. These kids have always had success. That helps you also. Defensively, they are physical and come and get you. We have to handle their pressure. We didn't handle it last year. We might have single-handedly made (Bryce Lewis) all-state with our performance against him."
Neither River Valley or Cambria Heights has reached the potential each team has this early in the season, but Friday might serve as a chance to see where both teams currently stand.
"If you ask any coach, they would probably rather play their bigger games later in the season," Lewis said. "But, it's one of those things where it is a good measuring stick to see where you are and where you need to improve. It also gives you an idea of how you stack up against another top team."