Northlake Christian School’s Wolverines (1-0) host the Crescent City Pioneers, which finished 3-7 last season.

NCS won last year’s contest 39-6. The Wolverines opened the season last Saturday with a convincing 34-7 victory over the Archbishop Hannan Hawks led by senior running back Derek Williams, who rushed for 126 yards on just 11 carries with three TDs coming on runs of 33, 30 and 2 yards.

NCS rushed for 257 yards, while throwing the ball just 3 times with one completion for six yards.

NCS senior quarterback Tyler Clark scores on a 16-yard run in the season opener against Archbishop Hannan. The Wolverines host the Crescent City Pioneers tonight at William Pitcher Junior High with kick off set for 7 o’clock. (File Photo by Joey Michel)

Senior QB Tyler Clark complemented Williams on the ground, gaining 56 yards on 10 carries, including a 16-yard TD scamper. Back up quarterback Josh O’Rear chipped in with 27 yards on five carries. He completed 1-of-2 passes for six yards to Will Sigl.

Crescent City head coach Bryan Villa is in his first-year with the Pioneers. His club opened last week with a 12-7 victory over Class 4A opponent Riverdale.

Crescent City has seven seniors on its roster. The Pioneers run a Wing-T offense led by senior QB Hazana Arceri (5-11, 165), who also plays free safety.

Senior fullback Lance Miller (5-11, 175), who also plays cornerback scored on a 12-yard run and defensively he stripped the ball from a Riverdale runner and went the other way for a 40-yard score to lead the Pioneers to their victory.

Crescent City junior running back Blake Quinlivan (5-10, 160) is another two-way starter, who plays safety. Senior Sam Slack (5-10, 165) is a returning all-district special team returner.

Defensively, the Pioneers run a 4-2-5 with six returning starters led by senior Torre Robinson (6-0, 180), who anchors the d-line from his end position. All-district senior middle linebacker Michael Behlar (6-0, 190) and senior safety Niko Bladsacker (5-9, 165), an all-district player help to spearhead the Pioneers’ defense. Coach Villa said Northlake is a very well coached and disciplined football team.

“They get after it. They will play the entire 48 minutes. They have a good group of physical guys over there,” Villa said.

Villa said his team is excited about the big opening victory Riverdale.

“I preach to my guys that we never fully arrive. We know as a team that we have to get better every week. We haven’t reached the playoffs in four years so we are striving to continue to improve,” Villa added.