The Woodlands and College Park have both relied on defense this season.

The Highlanders’ defense delivered a critical District 14-5A victory last week, when they limited Bryan to 172 yards of total offense in a 21-14 victory over the Vikings. Friday night, The Woodlands (6-2, 4-0) will try to take another step toward a possible league championship against College Park (4-4, 1-3) at Woodforest Bank Stadium.

“We’ve played really good defense the last five or six weeks,” Highlanders coach Mark Schmid said. “That’s been a constant for us. We’ve shown signs that we can be a good offensive team.

“One of our goals before the season was to win a district championship, and College Park still has playoff hopes. That makes for an interesting matchup right there.”

Schmid and College Park coach Richard Carson agree that the nearby rivals often bring out the best in one another.