Valley City–A 30-mile rivalry, a travelling trophy, and the top-two ranked teams in the state.

Can the game live up to the lead-up?

We find out tonight when the Valley City Hi-Liner football team hosts the Jamestown Bluejays at Hanna Field.

Valley City enters the game 6-0 and ranked first by the North Dakota sports media and the state’s QRF playoff ratings after torching the Wahpeton Huskies 40-6 last week.  The Huskies are the only team to beat Jamestown this season.

After the 14-13 loss to Wahpeton, the Bluejays responded with a 33-8 thrashing of the Dickinson Midgets last week.  Only one team has scored more than 14 points against Jamestown this year, when Grand Forks Central scored 28 in a 42-28 Jamestown victory in week three.

Senior quarterback Peyton Hochhalter leads the Bluejays, tossing 19 touchdown passes and rolling up 1371 yards through the year.  Hi-Liner head coach Scott Roehrich lists him as a chief cause of concern.

“He can really extend plays with his feet, and can keep plays going outside the pocket.  It will be a challenge to keep him inside,” said Roehrich.

Jackson Walters leads the Bluejay defense with 50 tackles, and has amassed 510 yards receiving and nine touchdown catches.

Valley City has rushed for 1,940 yards in just six games, with Gavin Gerhardt pacing the charge with 709 yards and 10 touchdowns.  They have surrendered just 26 points total this season.

Gametime is set for 7:00 PM, pregame coverage will begin at 6:15 PM on KOVC.