As rivalries go, the Thompson vs. Vestavia Hills football series is not the longest between the two schools that are about 20 miles apart.

Thompson has played Montevallo 64 times, according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society website. The Warriors have also played Shelby County (63), Bibb County (45), Pelham (40), Chilton County, Vincent and Hoover (32 each) more times than they have squared off against the Rebels.

The longest standing opponents for Vestavia Hills are Hoover and Mountain Brook, at 58 games each. The Rebels have played Homewood 52 times and Shades Valley 49.

The two teams may have seen other foes more often, but it’s hard to argue that this series – won 14 times by each team – isn’t one of the most intense in what is quite probably the toughest big-school region in the state.

Vestavia will travel to Alabaster to meet the Warriors in the 7A Region 3 opener on Friday at 7 p.m. with bragging rights for the regular season and the all-time series on the line. The streak for Thompson – well, one streak – stands at eight. The last Vestavia win came on Oct. 2, 2015, in what was the Rebels’ 13th consecutive win over Thompson.

“They are the No. 1 target,” said Vestavia quarterback John Paul Head, “and they have been for the past couple of years. They’ve won four straight state championships, I believe. They are on top and we want to beat them. If you can beat them, you’re one of the best in the state.

“They came out of nowhere and built a dynasty like Hoover was – and still is.”

Thompson safety Kaleb Harris, like all of his Class of 2024 teammates, was in sixth grade the last time the Warriors felt the sting of a loss to the Rebels. Thompson beat Vestavia twice last season, including the only time the two teams have met in the playoffs. But the 3-star standout knows what to expect come kickoff.

“They are good,” he said. “We really know the mindset Vestavia will bring against us. I know they are coming to beat us. We’ve got to hold our ground.

“I feel like everybody in our region is a real rivalry game and we’ve got to come out and compete our hardest or somebody will take our spot.”

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Top-ranked Thompson heads into the game at 1-0 and is coming off an unexpected open date from last week after Hurricane Idalia kept IMG Academy from traveling to Warriors Stadium. No. 4 Vestavia Hills is 2-0 with wins over rivals Mountain Brook (35-10) and Homewood (43-0).

How did the Warriors spend their Friday Night No-Lights? “We practiced Friday and then went to a couple games,” said Harris, who watched the Hoover-Oak Grove, Miss., overtime game. “We spread out and enjoyed our Friday night.

“It really messed up our timing. It slowed us down, like, ‘Dang, we’ve got nothing to do for these couple days.’ We got back to the drawing board and it was a good ‘mental’ week.”

Harris said current film study, paired with his experience against the Rebels last season, has left him with no illusions about what to expect on Friday from the Vestavia QB.

“He’s a dawg,” he said. “I saw some strong individuals hit him and he just bounced back up, ready for the next play. We had some big individuals hit him and fall on him and he got right back up.”

The defender, who has about two dozen college offers, also had some good memories from both games last season.

“I had two picks and a pick-6 in the first game [a 34-14 win at Vestavia],” Harris said. “Those two interceptions were probably the most I’ve ever had in one game.”

In the rematch in Round 2 of the playoffs, Harris got another interception in Thompson’s 21-12 victory.

“I think I had nine picks all last year,” Head said, “and seven were against Thompson. That’s not how I like to look at it.

“I get nervous before we play every game and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous this week. It’s Thompson. Probably 75 percent of all their players will be playing on Saturdays. Last year, Peter Woods is the best player I ever played against in my life. On Monday night, he was playing for Clemson. It means more when we get into region play. Every week, on the [following] Saturday morning it’s hard to walk and hard to move my neck. It’s really tough and exciting at the same time.”

The Rebels are in Year 2 under head coach Robert Evans, a Vestavia Hills alumnus.

“It’s been great,” said Head, who is also a standout third baseman and catcher who has committed to play baseball at UAB. “I love [Evans] to death. He’s a defensive coach, but he brought in some amazing coaches and schemes. He’s trying to bring back the ‘old’ Vestavia with how they were always tough, hard-nosed, disciplined, but with some new stuff.

“I think we’re doing really well. The expectations are really high, based on going to the playoffs and being able to go toe-to-toe with Thompson.

“I’ve played all right,” said Head, who has completed 73 percent of his passes for 331 yards and five touchdowns with 161 yards rushing and four more scores. “The stats show we’ve done pretty good, but I’ve missed some throws that I wouldn’t miss if we were deeper in the system. I think I need to play a little bit cleaner.”