Two of the teams with visions of winning the Class 3-A District 6 football championship square off tonight in Carlisle as the Little Dutch travel west.

It’s strength against strength, as the Wildcats’ triple-option offense has racked up 52 points and 539 yards per game during their 3-0 start. Meanwhile, the Pella D is allowing less than 9 points and 264 yards per contest.

Little Dutch Coach Jay McKinstrey says that this game will likely be won by whichever of those two units wins the battle on first down.

“You can’t give them 2nd-and-5, 2nd-and-4, 2nd-and-6 even. You have to make them play 2nd-and-10, 2nd-and-9, at worst 2nd-and-8. If they do well on first down, then they have everything open to them and it makes it very challenging on your defense.”

If the Carlisle offense is successful in lighting up the scoreboard, the Little Dutch will have an opportunity to keep up. The Wildcats are allowing 30 points per game defensively, and McKinstrey says that he plans to spread the field tonight to give his playmakers some space to operate.

Kickoff is set for 7:30 tonight in Carlisle, and Trevor Castle and Randy Sikkema will be there to call the action on 92.1 KRLS. Pregame starts at 7:00.