SportsZone Football Friday Game of the Week Preview: Battle at Rock Bridge

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Friday night is all about bragging rights.

Rock Bridge (3-3) is ready to host Battle (0-6) in a crosstown showdown, kicking off the final-third of the regular season in rivalry fashion.

The Spartans and Bruins are our SportsZone Football Friday Game of the Week. You can watch the game live over the air channel 17.3 on KZOU. Here is a look at other local listings:

• DirecTV - Channel 18
• Dish Network - Channel 32
• Mediacom - Channel 12 & 709
• Centurylink - Channel 12
• Spectrum - Channel 183

Ahead of Friday's clash for Columbia pride, Rock Bridge rebuilt some confidence on its road trip to Camdenton. The Bruins snapped its first two-game losing skid under head coach Matt Perkins with a 56-point win against the Lakers, a contest where they recorded 437 total yards and forced five turnovers. Now, Rock Bridge is focused on unlocking its peak performance in the home stretch of the regular season.

"We're 0-0. The record is nothing and nothing. We need to win today. As cliche as it is, that's got to be the focus. We've got to get better. I tell our guys this a lot. I think we are as talented, or more talented, than we've ever been here," Perkins said. "If we play to our potential, we've got a long time left together, and so, let's try to figure out how to do that right now. That needs to start in practice. That's been the mindset, and I think our kids have really taken to that. They've been working extremely hard."

Although Battle is still searching for its first win of the 2025 campaign, the Spartans registered their best defensive performance of the year in their last outing. Battle limited Smith-Cotton, who currently owns a 4-2 overall record, to just 15 points, which is a 38-point improvement from its second-best defensive effort this year. With just three regular season games left before the district tournament, the Spartans are concentrated on putting all three phases of the game together in a single outing to capture their first win under first-year head coach Shawn Gaines.

"The message is just keep building. We're so close. We're making strides towards where we need to be. Versus Camdenton, we had an explosive offensive game. We scored the most touchdowns we scored all year. Versus Smith-Cotton, we had our best defensive game, holding a team to only one touchdown and a bunch of field goals," Gaines said. "We're really, really close to putting together the full thing, and I think once we do, it'll be pretty special."

However, when two rivals meet on the gridiron, records become an afterthought. Both teams are striving to share or outright earn the title of city champions.

"When you have all three schools competing to be the best in the city, it's always going to be pretty intense," Gaines said. "When Battle was first created, we were at the top, and as time has gone on, now it's more competitive to where all three of us are having the opportunity to fight for the crown."

For Rock Bridge, Friday's game represents the beginning of its road to clinch the Columbia crown for a fourth straight season. While that's not the team's ultimate goal, Coach Perkins recognizes its importance, especially what it means to his players.

"It would feel good. It would eliminate some noise," Perkins said. "The goal is to be at our best down the stretch, and so, we're going to try to figure out what that looks like. As we go forward, try to make sure that we're practicing as hard as we can every single day and that we're getting the most out of each rep at practice, so when we get into the playoffs, we're at our best. That's really what we're trying to accomplish. But, in terms of winning the city championship, it's going to help our kids feel good, and you want that for them. So, we're going to go out and we're going to do our best to accomplish that, as well."

The Bruins have won three consecutive meetings with the Spartans by a combined 88-point margin, but the all-time record between these two programs is nearly even (6-4).

Neither team has won four straight games in the history of this rivalry. Rock Bridge is determined to end that trend while Battle is aiming to start its own winning streak against the Bruins.

"[Rock Bridge] has a ton of athletes on their team, and that's what they do. They just give it to those guys in space and let them work. Their quarterback is pretty special. He can move very well in the pocket, outside the pocket. He's an excellent runner, a really good deep ball thrower," Gaines said. "Defensively is really where they shine. They're big, they're physical and they're fast, and that's everything that you want out of your defense. So, I think this is a very, very solid football team, one that has a chance to make a run later on in the year."

"[Battle] has got some really good athletes. No. 3, on the defensive side, is a very long and energetic kid. He flies around. He's physical. I think they've got really good team speed," Perkins said. "We think that they're probably a little better defensively than maybe who we just got through playing, so we've got to be better than we were a week ago."

Kickoff from Rock Bridge High School is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.