“Sound tackling and blocking in combination with a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work.”

That's Weedsport coach Jason Trousdale's recipe for success against Onondaga. The last three times, it's worked. This year, he'll need all that - especially the luck.

The Weedsport Warriors (3-0) put their perfect record on the line Saturday against their arch-rival, the undefeated Onondaga Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in the state.

Weedsport has been dominant so far, running the ball at will with a devastating combination of Nick VanWie (562 yards) and Adam Quigley (428). The Warriors haven't had to resort to the pass much this year, but have made big plays when they need to stretch the field and keep the secondary honest. Their longest pass play this year was a 45-yard halfback option.

Onondaga, meanwhile, has plenty of power on the ground to match.

Latavius Murray, Onondaga's 6-foot-2, 220-pound tailback and future Division I player has got a ton of speed and will be very hard to stop if he can get into the open field. In just three blowout wins this year Murray has amassed 454 yards and 11 touchdowns - one of them on an interception return.

If that isn't enough, Chris Hart, brother of college star Mike Hart (Michigan) is their quarterback. Hart, who was a running back last year, has been successful in the switch behind center. Highly efficient in the air and in the ground game, he has had a devastating effect on opponents' defenses.

Onondaga has a few other potential college prospects to go along with their star players, making this Saturday a potential playoff preview. Onondaga's offensive line runs guys well over 300 pounds as well as 220-pound quick defensive ends on the other side of the ball.

Weedsport's Tony Tabone will be the key player in the battle of the trenches this weekend because Onondaga runs a lot of running plays involving pulling their guards across the line. If Tabone, along with the rest of Weedsport's line can use leverage to counteract the size and push the line back initially they can jam the linemen from pulling effectively and try to jam Murray in the backfield before he can get a head of steam.

“This is definitely a game to circle on the schedule, it will give us a good gauge on where we are as a team,” Trousdale said.

Onondaga most definitely has this game circled as well.

This Saturday is Onondaga's homecoming, and they will be looking to prove their newly awarded top ranking is justified. A big key to the Warriors success this weekend will be the ability to prevent Onondaga from stacking eight players in the box to slow down their running attack. If Weedsport's passing game can make a few big plays downfield and keep the Tigers defense off balance, then this will be the best game of the year. So far.