Not too many rivalries can be explained with colors. There are plenty of rival teams who share mascots — Auburn and LSU come to mind — but you never hear that game, which ironically enough will be played Saturday night at Auburn, described as the battle of Purple and Gold versus Burnt Orange and Navy.

    Then there's Newton-Conover and Maiden.

    While it may be just those of us in the media that refer to this game every year as the Battle of Red versus Blue, one thing's for sure — the Devils will come out and play tonight, and they will win. It's just a matter of which ones — the Red ones or the Blue ones.

    It's one of the better rivalries in the area. The schools, separated by only eight miles, will convene on one another for the 39th time at 7:30, and will take place in Gurley Stadium, home of the Red ones.

    The Red Devils have won three straight in the series, including playoff wins over the Blue Devils in the past two seasons, to take control of a rivalry that was once all Maiden. Talk to the players, and they'll let you know that there's the utmost respect for the Devils of another shade. But each one on the sideline tonight circled this game on their calendar long ago.

    And so did the rest of us.

    According to the research done by The Observer News Enterprise for its 2008 football tab, the Red Devils and the Blue Devils have been Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in football since the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference started in 2005. Between them, there have been four conference titles (two each, although all shared), six playoff berths (three each), four 10-win seasons (two each), and 38 conference wins (Newton-Conover 20, Maiden 18).

    Tonight, though, none of that will matter — each team just wants to win.

    So far this season, it seems as if the Red Devils and Blue Devils are heading in opposite directions. Newton-Conover is 3-0, ranked third in the state 2A poll, and boasts the league's best rusher in Dorian Jones as well as leads the league in team rushing. Maiden is on a two-game skid after starting 1-0, is coming off a 47-14 loss to the hands of Fred T. Foard — the first time the Tigers had won at Maiden since 1982 — and can't seem to get anything going consistently on offense.

    In the Red Devils' previous three wins over the Blue Devils, they've done it on the ground. Graduated quarterback Devon Danner and Jones combined for over 270 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in their 28-21 playoff win last November at Gurley Stadium. Jones had over 170 yards alone in their win at Maiden last September. In the playoff win two seasons ago, Newton-Conover back Brian Sullivan, now at Lenoir-Rhyne, earned 83 hard-nosed yards in helping the Red Devils to a 17-6 win, their first at Maiden since, well, 1982.

    Prior to last year's playoff loss, Maiden had won three straight at Gurley Stadium — when Maiden owned the ground game. Now, the rushing yards that the Blue Devils are accustomed to piling up have vanished in the past couple of seasons, putting more pressure on quarterback Justin Sizemore to produce. With the Red Devils' defense playing at the level that it has this year, he'll have to have a monster game if the Blue Devils hope to keep up.

    Speed killed Maiden when it visited Lincolnton two weeks ago, and it killed it again last week when Fred T. Foard came to town. Newton-Conover is just as fast, if not faster, than both of those teams. The Red ones push their streak to four straight over the Blue ones.

    Newton-Conover 24, Maiden 14

    ST. STEPHENS at HICKORY: With Hickory's offense finally coming alive, and the Indians' sputtering, this one's a tough call.

    It's a tough call because while St. Stephens (2-1) has a solid defense, it's yet to be seen if the Red Tornadoes (2-1) can stop anyone. They blew a big 20-0 lead at Bandys last week, and gave up 27 points in a loss at Statesville in Week 2.

    The Indians' offense looked completely out of sync last week in their 21-6 loss at home to Newton-Conover, but their defense held it tight until the start of the fourth quarter.

    St. Stephens' only win against Hickory in the history of the series came at Barger Stadium, which is where tonight's game will be held at 7:30. Whether that's relevant or not will be determined, but the Indians played the Red Tornadoes to a one-point game last season, with Hickory having Darrien Burch and Austin Johnson in the backfield.

    Gone are Burch and Johnson, and the Indians are much improved, albeit on the defensive side. Still, their offense looked so bad last week, I'm not so sure it can improve enough to knock off the defending league champs.

    Hickory 14, St. Stephens 10

    PATTON at FRED T. FOARD: After last week's win at Maiden, no one is overlooking the Tigers now.

    There's not enough that can be said about how surprised everyone is at what the Tigers (3-0) have done — everyone that is, except Fred T. Foard.

    The Tigers' backfield ran up 286 yards on the ground and accounted for six of their seven TDs in the 47-14 win at a place they hadn't won since the Ronald Reagan administration. And they've only lost five conference games at home since 2005, and that's where tonight's game is.

    Patton is also a surprising 2-1, but it's resume isn't as impressive. The first-year Panthers knocked off West Caldwell last week for their first league win in school history, but the Warriors, who host Bunker Hill tonight, are nothing like the Tigers.

    Quintin Owens and the rest of the Fred T. Foard backfield has a field day tonight, as the host team wins in a rout.

    Fred T. Foard 37, Patton 3

    BUNKER HILL at WEST CALDWELL: One of these teams is getting its first win of 2008 tonight.

    If we only knew who.

    O-N-E Outlook Editor Barbara Burns says it's going to be Bunker Hill, and even though she hasn't missed a pick in two weeks, I'm still not convinced.

    Statistically, the Bears (0-3) should win, but what have statistics showed us this year? Nothing. West Caldwell can't score — it has only 26 total points in three losses. Bunker Hill can't defend — it's given up 132 points in three losses. So how do you decide?

    Mascot battle.

    A warrior hunts bear, captures bear, and uses it for food. Therefore, Warriors defeat Bears, in a slow one.

    West Caldwell 13, Bunker Hill 6