Football has really become completely secondary this week for Triton.

The Trojans have been dealing with a much bigger, and harder, reality than facing undefeated and No. 1-ranked Pioneer.

Triton, which is off to one of its best starts in program history, will go into its sixth game of the season Thursday night sporting heavy hearts.

The Trojans will line up to face the Panthers in Royal Center without one of their brothers in No. 54 Cameron Scarberry. Scarberry, a 16-year old junior at Triton and a two-way starter for the Trojans, died in a single-vehicle accident Sunday afternoon near Atwood.

“This game is secondary really,” said third-year Triton coach Ron Brown. “The challenge for us in Pioneer is not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things.

“We just plan to go do our best and try and move forward from here. There’s been no chance for things to be normal for our kids this week.”

The key Hoosier North Athletic Conference game pitting the Trojans, who are 4-1, versus the Panthers, who are 5-0, was moved to Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. in order not to conflict with visitation services for Scarberry Friday night from 5-9 p.m. at Triton. Scarberry’s funeral is set for Saturday, also at Triton, at 11 a.m.

“Cameron was just a very loving, caring, enthusiastic young man,” said Brown, who also coached Scarberry as a wrestler. “He was a great player for us. An ideal player for us.”

Scarberry played both offensive line and linebacker for the Trojans.

In other local games, there will be a huge Northern Lakes Conference clash in Middlebury. NorthWood, ranked No. 5 in Class 4-A, faces Class 4-A No. 6 Northridge. The Raiders are off to a 3-0 start in the NLC for just the second time since joining the league in 1987. Concord leads the NLC standings at 4-0 with Northridge second at 3-0, followed by both NorthWood and Plymouth at 2-1.

Warsaw will play at Goshen and Wawasee tries to snap a four-game losing streak at home versus Plymouth in a pair of NLC games.

Tippecanoe Valley will look to win its second straight game after an 0-4 start. The Vikings, who routed winless Whitko 43-7 last week, welcome in Manchester for a Three Rivers Conference game. It will also be a special night as the field at Valley will be renamed Smith-Bibler Memorial Field – Home of Death Valley Football.

The field renaming, which was approved by the Valley School Board earlier this week, honors former coaches Charlie Smith and Scott Bibler, who both died in a plane crash in 2015 on their way to a Notre Dame football game at Clemson.

Here is a quick look at local games set for Friday night.

Warsaw (2-3, 1-2) at Goshen (1-4, 1-2), 7 p.m.

A short-handed Warsaw team will look for a much-needed win versus the RedHawks.

The Tigers, who still have NLC games left with both NorthWood and league leader Concord, will be without top running back Will McGarvey and top receiver Trevor York. Both are likely out for the remainder of the season due to injuries. McGarvey just reached 2,000 rushing yards for his career two weeks ago during a win at Elkhart Memorial.

“You take away the best running back and one of the best receivers from an offense that is already struggling,” noted Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “But, it has to be the next man up for us.”

“Our kids are still working hard and doing what we ask of them. I’ve been very pleased with them in that regard. It’s just been a thing here and a thing there offensively that has hurt us.”

Jensen is not sure what to expect from Goshen. Starting sophomore quarterback Wesley VanHooser was injured last week early in a 49-14 loss to Concord for the RedHawks.

“It’s hard to tell what we will see from them, depending on which quarterback plays,” Jensen said. “But they have a big offensive line and they want to control the ball and control the tempo of the game. That’s the challenge for us.”

VanHooser is out for the RedHawks due to an ankle injury. Junior Jack Immel, who was Goshen’s starting quarterback to start the season, will get the start for the RedHawks.

Goshen, whose lone win was a 24-8 decision over Elkhart Memorial, has scored just 62 points. The Tigers have tallied only 58.

The RedHawks did play tough at NorthWood though in a 19-10 NLC loss.

Warsaw has won nine in a row versus Goshen and 15 of the last 18 versus the RedHawks. Warsaw beat Goshen 43-14 a year ago.

NorthWood (4-1, 2-1) at Northridge (5-0, 3-0), 7 p.m.

It will be a matchup of a pair of outstanding defenses in this one.

NorthWood has allowed just 25 points on the season and ranks fourth in the state in points-allowed-per-game. The Black Crunch defense posted its third shutout last week versus Wawasee.

The Raiders, who are trying to start 4-0 in the NLC for the first time ever, have allowed just 42 points through five games.

“Northridge is tough, physical and senior laden,” said NorthWood coach Nate Andrews. “They are playing with confidence right now and their record gets your attention. We don’t look at the rankings for us or our opponents.

“I think that is a fun game for both communities. When you look at the NLC, when was a middle of the season game like this one that meant so much to both programs? Probably never before. That should make it fun.”

NorthWood rushed for over 450 yards last week and won despite four turnovers and 12 penalties. The Panthers had three scoring runs of 50 or more yards from star tailback Brayton Yoder and quarterback Landen Gessinger.

“In this game, I think who can establish a solid running game will have the upper hand,” noted Andrews. “Our offensive line (which returned just one starter from last year’s 14-1 state runner-up team) has been making baby steps. And that’s okay. I’m fine with one step at a time and gradual improvement from them.”

NorthWood beat Northridge twice last season, 14-0 during the regular season and 44-13 in the sectional. The Panthers have won 33 of the last 37 meetings with the Raiders, who finished 3-8 last year after having three straight winning seasons.

Conner Graber leads the Raiders, who are coached by former Wawasee coach Tom Wogomon, with six touchdowns.

Triton (4-1, 3-0) at Pioneer (5-0, 3-0), 6:30 p.m. Thursday night

The Trojans will see a juggernaut on the field.

Pioneer, which was Class 1-A state runner-up in 2016, has outscored its five opponents 264-0 on the season. The Panthers beat North White 80-0 last week and have scored 30, 61, 41 and 52 points in their other four games.

Pioneer went 14-1 a year ago and beat the Trojans by a 50-7 final.

Triton is coming off a huge win at Culver last week. The Trojans trailed 21-6 at the end of the third quarter before rallying to win 27-21 in overtime. Ethan Berry had a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner on a 10-yard run in overtime. Quarterback Bo Snyder also rushed for two touchdowns in the win for Triton.

Triton’s four wins this season are the same number as the Trojans had the past two years combined.

Manchester (1-4, 0-1) at Tippecanoe Valley (1-4, 1-1), 7 p.m.

There will be a lot going on at Valley this week.

Amidst all the hoopla though with Homecoming and the field renaming, the Vikings need to make it two wins in a row.

“It’s been hard this week with everything going on, but we have tried to make practices short and intense,” said first-year Valley coach Steve Moriarty. “That first win last week meant a lot. We knew we were a good football team and we finally got something to show for our hard work.

“I think that the win built our confidence.”

Manchester has struggled as the Squires have allowed 194 points. They were pummeled 70-22 last week by Northfield.

“No matter what their record shows, Manchester is hard to prepare for,” Moriarty noted. “They have a different style of offense and defense. We have to make sure that we do our assignments.

“We still are hurting with injuries and will probably have like eight players (including 4-5 starters) out Friday night. We just need other players to step up for us.”

Manchester will be without starting quarterback Hayes Sturtsman, who is serving a one-game IHSAA suspension after being ejected in last week’s game versus Northfield.

Valley defeated Manchester 31-28 last season.

Plymouth (4-1, 2-1) at Wawasee (1-4, 0-3), 7 p.m.

The Warriors will try to pull off an upset to get back on track.

Wawasee is coming off a 32-0 loss at NorthWood, while the Rockies handled Elkhart Memorial 35-6 last week.

Senior Benji Nixon leads Plymouth with 10 touchdowns.

Wawasee has allowed 120 points in its three NLC losses, but has scored 82 of its season point total in its two home games. Plymouth checks in as the No. 8 team in the Class 4-A IFCA poll this week.

Plymouth topped the Warriors 33-16 in last year’s meeting.