The Block High School Bears host rival St. Mary’s this week in the LHSAA District 3-1A opener for both teams at 7 p.m. Friday.

“It is a rivalry game. They’re a tremendous football team that scores a lot of points. I know they’re going to be upset coming here after a loss to North Caddo. So we better be ready to play,” Block coach Josh Loy said.

Even though Block is 0-3 on the season, the Bears’ strength of schedule is why they are currently No. 14 in the Class 1A power ratings. While the Tigers are 2-1 overall, they fell to No. 21 in the Division IV power ratings.

Block fell at Class 3A Jena last week, 36-0, while St. Mary’s fell to North Caddo, 48-40.

As for his what his takeaway was from last week’s game at Jena, Loy said he was proud of his team.

“We had a lot of players out, including starters,” he said. “We’ve got to get better, and we’ve got to compete to the best of our ability. I think most of our guys did that last week.”

Even if some of those players return this week, Loy said his team needs to be sharp.

“St. Mary’s is big up front. They have a quarterback that can throw it around. We’re going to have to play tremendous defense and wrap up,” Loy said. “Defensively, they’re very aggressive. They fly to the football and they like to gang tackle.”