OTTUMWA — In most sports, Pekin and Sigourney refer to their matchups as the ‘Skunk River’ rivalry.

When it comes to the gridiron, however, a much more physical tone is set for the rivalry between the Panthers and Sigourney-Keota.

“It means a lot to win the ‘backyard brawl,’” S-K head football coach Jared Jensen said. “Picking up a win over a team like Pekin is only going to help us down the road.”

“This would be a huge win to get,” Pekin head coach Joe Donovan added. “It would be huge for us to get back in the win column against S-K for the rivalry’s sake. To get to 2-0 would also be great for our confidence.”

Physicality figures to play a major part in this year’s installment of the ‘backyard brawl,’ which takes place Friday in Sigourney between No. 10 (A) Pekin and the Savage Cobras. Both teams used dominance up front to open lanes for two successful rushing attacks that contributed over 90 percent of total offensive yards for both victorious teams.

Pekin made an incredible statement in their opener, overpowering an overmatched New London squad 88-6, with 363 of 403 total yards coming on the ground. Quinten Garrels sparked the rushing attack, scoring six first-half touchdowns on 200 yards rushing as the Panthers scored six touchdowns in the opening quarter and never looked back.

“I know (New London) is down a little bit, but we were very pleased by the start,” Donovan said. “The kids came out of the gates so fast. I’d like to think that the kids came out hungry.

“I was pleased with how the kids came to play. From the opening kickoff, we established our run game right away.”

S-K had a similar story that developed on their home field last Friday against Central Lee. The Savage Cobras’ 35-28 win over Central Lee included a 380-yard rushing attack, highlighted by Mark Weatcher’s 184-yard, three touchdown night also came in the opening half.

“We ran the ball tremendously well,” Jensen said. “Mark didn’t even play the second half and Colton (Greiner) had a great night with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown. We feel like we have a stable of backs that we can put in there and give us a great effort.”

Unlike the Panthers, who were able to spread the wealth out in the second half after opening a 69-6 halftime lead and rest their top running back, injuries forced S-K to maximize their depth against a resilient Central Lee team that nearly overcame a 28-6 deficit in the second half. Weatcher suffered a foot injury that kept him sidelined for the final 24 minutes while cramps took out several players throughout the second half and depleted the number of players that were available to finish the contest.

“We were down to about 14 guys that were available by the end of the game,” Jensen said. “There were guys that were exhausted that we had to keep in because we didn’t have any other options. Our skill guys played true ironman football by the end of the night.”

Central Lee cut S-K’s lead to 35-16 by the end of the third quarter and used a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns to pull within seven. The Savage Cobras were able to finally put away the win with a late, time-consuming drive that showed plenty of heart in the heat of a suddenly close battle.

“I think it’s always good to start off with a tough game,” Jensen said. “We grew up a lot as a team on Friday. When it came to crunch time, we came together and bonded when we had to win.”

Both teams also feel like there are plenty of improvements that can be made after their opening-week wins. For S-K, Central Lee’s five-wide receiver set tested the Savage Cobra defense as Hawks’ quarterback Chase Vogel completed 28 of 37 passes for 351 yards and two touchdowns, including a 51-yard touchdown strike to Jacob Boeck, who finished with 10 catches for 131 yards against S-K.

Because of the lopsided nature of their win over New London, Pekin hopes to give third-year starting quarterback Graham Wittrock more chances to test that S-K secondary. Wittrock was just 2-5 for a pair of touchdowns and 40 yards against New London last Friday.

“I’d like to think we can throw the ball with more success this week. We didn’t really get a chance to do that with as quickly as last Friday’s game got out of hand,” Donovan said. “We have good wide receivers that can be explosive if we can get the ball in their hands. I think we’re capable of going for 100 to 200 yards passing on any given night.”

S-K will look to go back to a defensive game plan that was originally in place last week for Central Lee. The Savage Cobras will look to force Pekin to go to the air by focusing the defensive attack on the player that had the biggest night on the ground for the Panthers last week.

“We’re preparing for the run game, which is what we thought we’d see from Central Lee,” Jensen said. “This week, we have a package put together to shut down Garrels. If we can contain him, it’s going to be tough for their offense to get going.”