The Linden Patriots (6-0, 4-0) travel to Dixons Mills on Friday to take on the Marengo Panthers (0-6, 0-4) in an intra-county matchup.

Linden coach Andro Williams said his team is preparing like they would if they were playing the Hoover Bucs this weekend.

“We’re under the assumption that we’re playing the Hoover Bucs on Friday,” he said. “We have a lot of things we need to work on.”

He added that his team has to make better decisions offensively than they did against A.L. Johnson last week.

“We had too many negative plays,” he said, “and we tried to make plays that weren’t there. We stalled a few drives because of miscues in blocking.”

Williams said they are not where they need to be at this point in the season, either.

“We want to be playing our best football right now,” he said, “and we’re not there yet.”

John Essex travels to A.L. Johnson

Also in an intra-county game, John Essex travels to A.L. Johnson for the Eagles’ homecoming game.

Marengo Academy hosts Sparta

Marengo Academy (4-3, 3-1) plays host to Sparta Academy (3-4, 2-2) Friday night in Linden. The Warriors have won three straight games, and the Longhorns have lost three out of their last four.