There’s no shortage of motivation this Friday night for area high school football teams.

A pair of great rivalries highlight the docket as week seven arrives.

The biggest game of the night finds Wawasee making the trek down SR 15 to square off with county and conference rival Warsaw.

The Warriors have won the last three meetings in the annual clash for the W Trophy. Wawasee took a thriller 14-13 in Syracuse over the Tigers a year ago.

Tippecanoe Valley gets on the bus and heads to Rochester to meet their TRC rivals. Rochester sits atop the league standings with Whitko at 4-0 with Valley still in the mix at 3-1.  The Vikings shared the TRC title with Rochester in 2012 for the second straight year.

Speaking of Whitko, the Wildcats look to make it five straight wins with a trip to North Miami.

Triton returns home to host LaVille in NSC play. The Trojans topped the Lancers 21-10 in 2012 for their lone victory.

Here’s a closer look at Friday night’s match ups.

Wawasee (3-3, 2-2) at Warsaw (4-2, 3-1), 7:30 p.m.

This one is personal.

The host Tigers and the Warriors know each other very, very well.

“This is for bragging rights because so many of these kids know each other,” said first-year Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich. “It’s huge and important and it’s more personal.”

Warsaw coach Phil Jensen, whose team is tied for second in the NLC, is looking at the big picture.

“It’s a big week, but there’s more to it than just the W trophy,” Jensen said. “It’s also about staying in the race for an NLC championship. We lose this game and with two losses in the conference we can pretty much forget about a chance to play for the title.”

Both teams come into the contest off big wins.

Warsaw overcame a tough week last week with the death of Jensen’s brother Gil to throttle winless Goshen 34-12. Star running back Tristan McClone rushed for 254 yards and three touchdowns in just the first half for the Tigers.

“Our kids were ready to go last Friday and that just speaks to their character,” said Jensen.

Wawasee steamrolled Plymouth in Syracuse. The Warriors scored 38 second-half points, including 24 unanswered after falling behind, to roll the Rockies 52-35. Gage Reinhard threw for 321 yards and five touchdowns, star receiver Clayton Cook had 12 receptions for 227 yards and four scores and Brandin McCullouch rushed for 139 yards.

“I commend our kids,” said Ekovich, whose team has won its’  last two after losing three straight. “They are doing a great job. We are playing as a team and with passion. It’s not just Clayton. Gage is playing extremely well as is Brandin and our offensive line is doing a great job for us.”

Warsaw wants to play keep away by running the ball and keeping Cook and company on the sidelines.

“We’re built for that,” said Jensen. “They are super talented offensively. Cook is big, athletic and fast. He’s one of the best receivers in Northern Indiana and probably the state. We have to make them earn everything. We can’t give up big plays and can’t turn the ball over.”

Ekovich is impressed with McClone, who has 860 yards and 10 touchdowns this fall.

“He has great vision,” said Ekovich. “He finds the gaps and has great speed. He also handles the pressure. They are a good football team. We just have to be physical and win the turnover battle and let the chips fall where they may. The last two games with them have both been tight ones.”

Jensen says his team has had a good week of preparation.

“Our guys have got after it this week,” Jensen remarked. “Our guys have not had the W trophy and I don’t think that would set well with the senior class on either side. It’s our biggest rivalry game.”

Warsaw should be bolstered by the return of Seth Fouts Friday night. The senior linebacker missed the Goshen game due to an injury.

Tippecanoe Valley (3-3, 3-1) at Rochester (5-1, 4-0), 7 p.m.

All you have to do is mention Rochester and Valley coach Jeff Shriver is ready to roll.

“Everybody here knows it’s Rochester week,” said Shriver Wednesday. “Our kids are excited. Our coaches are excited. It’s just a big game with a lot of great history.”

The teams are playing for the Bell trophy.

Shriver’s team has won two in a row since a TRC slip-up in a 34-33 home loss to league foe Southwood three weeks ago.

“It’s about how you finish and I think we are on track and have righted the ship,” said Shriver. “Our seniors are ready to play and to take care of business. They have not lost to Rochester. We know we still control our own destiny in the TRC. That’s the main thing right now.”

Valley, which routed hapless Wabash last week 62-20, beat the Zebras 27-6 in 2012. Rochester’s lone loss this season was a 35-0 drubbing by Plymouth.

“Rochester is very good,” Shriver noted. “The No. 1 thing is that we have to be physical Friday night and control the lines. We have to play to our potential and play well in all three aspects of the game.”

Shriver says that star receiver Tanner Andrews and standout quarterback Ben Shriver are both feeling good. Both have dealt with injuries this season.

Whitko (4-2, 4-0) at North Miami (1-5, 1-3), 7 p.m.

Josh Mohr, the first year head coach of the Wildcats, see this as a dangerous game for his team.

“North Miami’s record does not indicate how good they are,” said Mohr. “They have a good, athletic quarterback and are similar to us with the option attack.”

Whitko travels to Denver on a  big time roll. The Wildcats have won four in a row in league play and sit tied atop the TRC standings with Rochester.  The Wildcats have scored 172 points in the win streak with a punishing ground game. Whitko rushed for 420 yards last week and did not complete a pass as they scored the final 27 points of the game to top Northfield 34-20.

“Our confidence is rising with every game and winning breeds that,” said Mohr, a former longtime assistant coach with the Wildcats. “We’ve picked it up. My philosophy is take one week at a time. I had high expectations this season and so far the kids have matched or even exceeded them in some cases.”

The offensive line has been outstanding for Whitko. Tanner Hughes, who had 202 yards and three touchdowns last week,  has led the attack, along with Devin Gerding, Trace Killian and quarterback Ethan Nicodemus. A big key too has been limiting turnovers, which hurt the Wildcats big time in 2012.

“Our offensive line has worked hard,” noted Mohr. “They are very driven and our coaches have done an outstanding job with them. We’re plus five in turnover margin on the season and the last four weeks has been very good in that area. We just need to play 48 minutes Friday night and raise our level of play.”

North Miami is averaging a paltry 10 points-per-game and have just a win over winless Wabash this season.

Whitko ends the regular season with huge TRC games versus Rochester and Valley.

LaVille (3-3, 1-3) at Triton (1-5, 0-4), 7 p.m.

The Trojans deserve a break in the schedule and get one this week.

Triton has faced Bremen, Glenn and New Prairie the last three games in being outscored 154-13 in a brutal stretch of NSC games.

“Our full focus is on LaVille, not the last three games,” said first-year Triton coach John Johns. “We’re at the point in our season where we should be able to compete.

“I feel good about our kids.  They are still practicing hard. I’ve never had to question their effort. I’m looking at the big picture and I’m pretty optimistic about now and our future.”

The Trojans are still a team very low on numbers, especially with three keys players in Grant Stichter, Josey Farmward and Cole Creighbaum either out or doubtful for this week.

“Grant has not been released yet, I’m not sure about Josey and Cole (who was hurt last week) is still tender,” said Johns.

“LaVille does a nice job with their option game and we need to control their run game,” Johns said. “We also need to block better.”

LaVille is coming off a 38-7 loss to Bremen.