In Week 1, the Sedalia Smith-Cotton Tigers broke a 10-game losing streak with a win against Moberly.
Meanwhile, the Helias Crusaders had a 14-game winning streak snapped with a loss to Hannibal.
The Tigers and the Crusaders have gone in different directions since then. Class 5 No. 7 Helias has rattled off six straight wins, while the Tigers have dropped six straight.
"When you watch them on film, there are moments where they play really good football," Helias coach Chris Hentges said as the Crusaders prepared for tonight's Central Missouri Activities Conference game against the Tigers in Sedalia. "And then there are times where they are struggling to be consistent. It's really a lack of consistency that has hurt them."
While the Tigers may still be searching for their identity, one thing stood out on film to Hentges as a positive.
"They play hard," he said. "You don't see kids loafing, even in the fourth quarter when they are getting beat, they have 11 guys on defense going hard to the football, they have guys on offense firing off the ball.
"They're struggling to put all of the pieces together and execute at a high level. But you can't fault them for their intensity on the field and their willingness to play hard for four quarters."
Smith-Cotton scored 32 points in that opening win against Moberly. But in the ensuing six games, the Tigers have scored a total of 28, including a pair of shutouts.
The Tigers have shown a lot of different offensive formations this season, everything from the quarterback being under center in the flexbone and I-formations to being in the shotgun in the spread.
"We're practicing for a lot of things," Hentges said. "They are pretty diverse and that's going to present some challenges for us to make sure we're lined up properly in whatever they are in."
Reading the keys is the No. 1 priority for the Helias defense, no matter what the Smith-Cotton offense is running.
"Discipline defensively, making sure our eyes are in the right spot," Hentges said. "We have to know our assignments and be ready for a lot of things."
Smith-Cotton is averaging about 150 yards of offense per game.
Tiger quarterback Lane Simmons is 20-of-54 passing for 318 yards and two touchdowns to go along with seven interceptions. Josiah Oliver is his favorite target with 10 receptions for 228 and both of the touchdowns.
A total of 13 different Tigers have at least three carries this season. Mylan Hawkins leads with 204 rushing yards (7.0 avg.), with four of the team's seven touchdowns on the ground.
The Smith-Cotton defense operates out of a base 3-4, but like the offense, has shown multiple formations this season.
"We could see as many as four different defensive fronts from them," Hentges said. "We have to keep things kind of simple on offense, you want to block on plays and you can't do that if you're asking them to block 10 different run plays against four possible defensive fronts."
A unique feature of the Smith-Cotton defense is interior blitzes.
"They bring some linebacker pressure that we haven't seen, we've been working on that this week," Hentges said.
Everett Wood, a linebacker, leads the Tigers with 65 tackles, including 44 solo stops. Smith-Cotton has 13 sacks this season, led by four from lineman Elias Washington.
The Tigers have allowed at least 46 points in their five CMAC games.
Helias is coming off a 51-7 victory against Jefferson City in what was perhaps its best overall game of the season.
"All three phases for four quarters, I thought we played exceptionally well," Hentges said. "Any time you beat your crosstown rival that was on a three-game winning streak and we held them the way we did and we scored the way we did, that was a dominating performance.
"That was a credit to everybody in the program. We were ready for that game, we were locked in. The kids didn't shrink in a big moment, they stepped up with a lot of emotion and played really well."
Focus can be a problem after a victory like the one last Friday night.
"You always worry about that as a coach, coming off a win in a big rivalry game," Hentges said. "We've tried to refocus the guys this week and they've responded well.
"But that's a challenge at all levels of football, the week after a big rival win it can be tough to get the players focused on the job at hand."
Hentges isn't expecting the Crusaders to play up to that level again tonight. But he doesn't want his team to come out flat with things such as penalties and turnovers.
"We want to be sharp, we don't want to take a step backward by playing sloppy," Hentges said.
With a win, Helias would wrap up its second consecutive undefeated CMAC season.
"I think it surprised some people last year that Helias, the smallest school in the conference, came in and swept it," Hentges said. "And we have the chance to do that again this year.
"To complete two undefeated conference seasons would be very special."
Game time is 7 p.m.
Notes: Helias defeated Smith-Cotton 45-3 last year at Ray Hentges Stadium. The Crusaders last played in Sedalia in a 35-6 win Aug. 31, 2012. Tyler Sandbothe led the Helias defense with five tackles against Jefferson City. Beau Bondurant, Tanner Nappier and Gage Wilde had four each. For the season, Wilde leads with 54 total tackles. Sandbothe is next with 44, while Bondurant has 41. Helias deep snapper Nate Roark was injured in the JV game Monday, but is expected to play tonight. Second-leading rusher Will Herrbold will be back after missing the last two games with an injured toe, while offensive and defensive lineman Drew Distler will be a game-time decision with an injury. Helias has filled its schedule in Week 4 for the next two seasons with Cardinal Ritter. "We didn't have a whole lot of options, there were three schools that reached out to us," Hentges said. "We just didn't want to be open there." Chaminade and St. Louis University High also approached Helias about the open spot. Helias had Granite City, Ill., in Week 4 this season. The Crusaders' other non-conference games are against Hannibal and Vianney. Helias will wrap up the regular season next Friday night against Vianney in St. Louis.