In their last matchup, Kingsland ended Spring Grove’s season with a 17-14 overtime win in the section semifinals.

The Knights have an opportunity to underline their newfound dominance in Nine-Player football when they host the Lions on Friday in a game streaming live on Strib Varsity. Watch the matchup at 7 p.m. here.

Historically, Spring Grove has had the upper hand. The Lions beat Kingsland four years in a row from 2019 to 2022 and won last season’s regular-season game. They have made the state tournament five times and made it to the championship game on its last three trips, winning the Nine-Player state title in 2017 and 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2022.

Things shifted in 2023, when Kingsland returned to Nine-Player after two years in Class 1A. The Knights jumped from a 4-5 record in 2022 to 13-1, going undefeated in the regular season and only losing in the Prep Bowl.

Kingsland enters Friday’s matchup 4-0, averaging 35 points per game. Kaaleem Reiland, a Minnesota Duluth running back commit, has passed for 255 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 617 yards and 10 touchdowns and caught one pass for 40 yards and a score. He’s also accounted for 12 tackles and one interception.

Spring Grove is 3-1, averaging 33.75 points per game. Against the teams both the Lions and the Knights have faced, Spring Grove has won by larger margins. It defeated Bethlehem Academy 54-0 (Kingsland won 42-0) and LeRoy-Ostrander 37-12 (Kingsland won 40-32).