On Friday night the Parkland football team will line up across the field from a familiar opponent. Two of the areas prominent programs will battle it out for the District 11 Class AAAA championship and a spot in the state tournament.

Parkland and Easton squared off back in early September, and the Red Rovers dominated the Trojans, shutting them out 24-0. But don't expect the same outcome this time around. More than 10 weeks later, both teams are different, especially Parkland (11-1), which hasn't lost since that week two setback to Easton.

"Offensively we certainly have to do a better job than last time," said Trojan head coach Jim Morgans. "We were a little overwhelmed by them. But we're a different football team than we were then. We hadn't even settled on a quarterback at that time. But this is the fourth time we've played them in two years so I'm sure there will be some similarities."

Something that the two teams have in common is a strong running game. The Trojans are led by senior tailback Kareem Williams, who ran for a game-high 227 yards and two touchdowns. Eli Redmond and quarterback Devante Cross also find themselves with the ball in their hands often. Against Whitehall, the two connected on a 35-yard score.

The Trojans defense had to deal with a strong 1-2 punch in the backfield for the Zephyrs in Saquon Barkley (94 yards) and Ryan Bonshak. Easton has just as good of a running game, if not a better one, with its combo of Shane Simpson and Kyle Bambary.

"They're certainly a challenging dynamic," said Morgans. "They're both very good football players. Bambary is a tough inside runner and Simpson is more of an outside guy who has a lot of wiggle. We certainly need to be aware of what they can do."

Parkland will need to put points on the board, but it will also hope that it happens faster than last week. Last Friday against Whitehall, the Trojans scored their first touchdown of the game with under a minute left until halftime, and only led 10-3 going into the locker room.

"That's why you have halftimes at football games," said Morgans. "We made some adjustments to the schemes. We wanted Kareem [Williams] to run the ball more and better. We give the kids these changes, and they listen. I couldn't ask for anything more. They did a great job."

Parkland looks to win its second straight District 11 crown Friday night at Orefield Middle School.