Steve Mask has been a high school head football coach for 27 years – a career that includes six different schools across the state.

He knows well the task that is ahead of his No. 9-ranked Theodore Bobcats as they travel to face top-ranked Saraland on Friday in a critical Class 6A, Region 1 game.

“It’s one of the best collections of athletes I’ve seen in a long time,” Mask said. “They are just sound everywhere. They are great in a couple of spots, and they are playing at a high level. There is a reason they are ranked No. 1 and probably the clearcut favorite to win it all again.

“We are going to go over there and see what we can do.”

RELATED: 5 Coastal Alabama games to watch in Week 10

Mask doesn’t expect his Theodore team (6-2, 5-1) to back down. After all, these two teams played a pair of tight games a year ago with the Bobcats winning by a point in the regular season and Saraland winning 21-6 in the state semifinals on the way to the school’s first state football title.

“There is a little history between the teams that I think will carry over,” said Mask, who took over at Theodore in the offseason when Eric Collier joined the South Alabama coaching staff. “Our kids aren’t dumb. They understand football and they have a lot of confidence. We aren’t backing down. Our kids know what is at stake. We played them twice last year with pretty much the same team.”

Saraland (8-0, 6-0) hasn’t lost since Theodore won in the regular season a year ago – a span of 14 straight games. A win Friday clinches the region title for Jeff Kelly’s Spartans.

“I think it is the same as it was last year. Same thing is on the line. You talk about our region and how important it is to try to win our region and this game is going to play a lot into it,” Kelly said on Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile this week. “We are playing an outstanding team, a team I think we know well and they probably know us well, too.

“There are not a lot of secrets out there. I have a ton of respect for all the things coach Mask has done over the years and also this year. I think we are catching them at a time where they are probably playing their best ball of the year. They go out and dismantle a good McGill team. They play so physical on defense. It will be a big challenge and should be a great game and a great atmosphere.”

Theodore has won three straight games since losing 8-3 to Spanish Fort on Sept. 22. After knocking off Class 7A Opelika 16-10, the Bobcats have routed Blount (35-0) and McGill-Toolen (42-7). Last year, Navontay Richardson filled in for injured tailback Braxton Clark and rushed for 264 yards and 4 TDs against the Yellow Jackets. Mask said he expects his team to be full speed in the backfield on Friday.

“We’ve definitely improved in the last few weeks,” Mask said. “We’ve kind of found an identity on both sides of the ball. We’ve settled in and settled on some positions. I still think our best football is ahead of us, but we are playing well for Week 9 in the season. I feel good about the team.”

Kelly could say the same thing about Saraland. After beating Tennessee power Lipscomb Academy in overtime in the season opener, the Spartans have been as dominating as any team in the state, winning their next seven games by an average of 48 points an outing.

Texas QB commit KJ Lacey has completed 71 percent of his passes for 1,610 yards and 24 TDs. Reigning Mr. Football Ryan Williams has 11 receiving touchdowns and four rushing TDs. Santae McWilliams has rushed for 450 yards and 10 TDs.

Can Mask and company find a way to slow down the Spartans?

“We are going to rotate different people on the front, play six kids up there,” he said. “I feel like we have good athletes on the back end who have gotten better. The biggest thing is we have to do what we do. If you try to trump something new up for one game, it usually backfires. We are going to carry out our plan and try to tackle them in space.”

Though Kelly said he personally hasn’t talked about the fact that Theodore was the last team to beat Saraland now more than a year ago, he knows his team is aware of the past.

“I think the best thing to happen to us all year was going over there and coming up short,” he said. “It was definitely a big atmosphere, and I think that was the first kind of big game atmosphere that a lot of our kids had last year. We were going over there with a bunch of 10th graders. We made some mistakes and kind of grew up as a team, and I think it really prepared us for some of those big moments in the playoffs.

“I don’t have to remind our guys of any of the history here. They know that pretty well. I think both teams are probably looking forward to the game. I knows ours is and I think Theodore is as well.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Spartan Stadium in Saraland.