Northview at West Forsyth

When, where: Friday, 7:30 p.m., at The Den in Cumming.

Records, rankings: Northview is 4-0 overall, 3-0 in Region 6-AAAAAA and unranked; West is 2-2, 2-1 and unranked.

Series history: West leads 2-0.

Last meeting: West won 39-22 in 2011.

What to know: West will move firmly in to playoff contention with a win Friday against Northview—easier said than done. The Titans routed North Forsyth behind dual-threat quarterback DJ Pearson and a glut of talent at receiver, including Matty Biondich (preseason Class AAAAAA All-State). Northview is off to its best start since 2007, when the Titans opened 3-1 but finished 4-6. “They’re probably the fastest team we’ve seen this year, so we’ve got to keep them in front of us,” West coach Adam Clack said. “On film, they make a ton of big plays on busted coverages, and we can’t allow that.”

The Wolverines will be without running back/kick returner Austin Reid on Friday due to a concussion suffered last week at Habersham Central. Safety Drew Wesolowski also is out due to injury—the fourth West safety to go down—meaning West has to rely on a rotating group of David West, Jeff Cooley and Nate Schmitz in the secondary. “It’s duct tape and bubble gum back there right now, and it’s probably the worst week to have that happen,” Clack said. After struggling on offense in the first two games, the Wolverines are starting to get back in rhythm. “The last six quarters, since halftime of the Chattahoochee game, we’ve started to turn the corner on offense,” Clack said. “Hampton [McConnell] is ready to start taking games over. Maybe we were putting too much on him early, and now he’s starting to realize that he doesn’t have to be perfect all the time.” The Wolverines know Friday could be a turning point, for better or worse, in their 2014 campaign. “This will tell us where we stand,” Clack said.