Jason Trousdale called it just one game in a long season.

But everyone knows - the Weedsport head coach included - that this is the big one.

The Warriors' home winning streak, which dates back to 2002, will be on the line Friday night when the Onondaga Tigers visit Weedsport.

“OCS is the measuring stick for Section III football,” Trousdale said.

Understatement.

Currently, Onondaga is the measuring stick for all of New York. The No. 1-ranked Tigers (3-0) average 53 points per game, led by 6-foot-4 running back Latavius Murray, who rushed for more than 2,000 yards a year ago as a junior; he already has 11 touchdowns in the first three games. Murray has offers from Division I schools, including Syracuse, Boston College, Connecticut, Central Florida and Maryland. He's also gained the attention of Florida, Michigan, Virginia and Pittsburgh.

On the other side of the ball, the Tigers are led by none other than the 220-pound Murray, who suits up at linebacker.

One thing's for sure: The Warriors aren't treating this like just another game.

Trousdale said the first two days of practice this week were all conditioning, all the time, calling the workouts the hardest the players have run since double sessions - with a very important aim.

“If it's a close game down the stretch, I think we can wear them down,” Trousdale said.

The Warriors (3-0) also have momentum on their side. Last week, after trailing Bishop Grimes 33-14 early in the third quarter, the offense erupted for 38 unanswered points. The key to that rally was when Trousdale gave quarterback Bryce Leitten the green light to tuck and run. The second-year starter, who has 36 carries for 333 yards and nine touchdowns on the season, carried the ball to pay dirt himself five consecutive times in the second half to help the Warriors to a 52-33 win.

“They dug down deep when they were down and really battled back hard,” Trousdale said. “If we can play four quarters like we did in the second half against Bishop Grimes, we'll be in the football game against OCS.”

So far, that's been a problem. The Warriors have yet to put together a full game, and Trousdale said Friday's key will be ball control - both literally and figuratively. If the Warriors have possession, they can control the clock and keep the ball out of Murray's hands. That means keeping it in their own hands, though - which was a struggle during Weedsport's game against Hannibal, in which they committed five turnovers.

“Just don't kick yourself in the rear end,” Trousdale said. “If you make mistakes against a team like this, you're going to be in a world of hurt.”

The Warriors resided in that world a season ago. The teams met during Week 4 in 2006, both undefeated in three contests. Murray scored the first three touchdowns of the game, and the Tigers went on to win easily, 48-8.

The lopsided loss doesn't bother Trousdale, though.

“One thing I talked about and stressed is you can't fear to fail,” he said. “They got to go at it 100 miles per hour.”

Kind of like they did against Bishop Grimes.

“Just the fact that we scored that many points, our kids should be confident about this game,” Trousdale said. “We feel that if we're in the game at the end, we'll find a way to win it.”