ROCKTON, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — It’s Deja Vu all over again for Hononegah’s football team. The NIC-10 leaders are facing huge game for the second straight week Friday night. Last week it was against Boylan. This time it’s against Belvidere North in our “Overtime” game of the week.

The 6-0 Indians pulled out a hard-fought 24-21 win at Titan Stadium last week to claim sole possession of first place, one game ahead of Boylan, Harlem and Belvidere North. It was the first close game they’ve played this season.

“We talk about scenarios like that,” said Hononegah head coach Brian Zimmerman. “How are we going to respond? How are we going to react when we’re down? When we meet adversity? I thought the kids responded really well.”

Belvidere North has been itching for a chance to climb back into a share of first place after losing a heartbreaking overtime game at Boylan four weeks ago. Since then, the Blue Thunder have dominated three straight opponents.

“After the Boylan game we had so many injuries and we just, we were down so many guys, so it was really positive to see a lot of guys step up,” said North head coach Jeff Beck.

The Blue Thunder are giving up the second fewest amount of points in the conference, one slot behind Hononegah’s number one defense.

“Belvidere North’s defense is kind of the same as Boylan’s defense,” said Hononegah quarterback Cole Warren. “I know they’re going to be good. I know they’re fast in the secondary. I know they’ve got good linebackers and their D-linemen are quick.”

Trent Dinsmore has given the Blue Thunder running game a consistent threat between the tackles while speedster Nico Bertolino has been breaking off one big play after another.

“He (Bertolino) certainly hits the hole hard,” said Zimmerman. “He’s a senior with experience, and he’s certainly showing it the way he’s been running.”

“Belvidere North’s offense, it’s impossible to replicate,” said Hononegah linebacker Luke Poppe. “They run it so well, and we haven’t really seen anything like it.”

Not only does Hononegah have the NIC-10’s number one rated defense, the Indians’ offense is also number one in scoring. Warren has a lot of weapons around him, and he’s making use of all of them.

“They run a bunch of different stuff,” said Bertolino who also plays cornerback in addition to running back for Belvidere North. “You’re going to get a bunch of different looks whether that’s single spread, you know, trips formations all the time. They do a mix of everything.”

Hononegah is going after its second conference championship in three years. North is going after its first championship since 2014.

“Yea, it’s a big (emotionally) ‘high’ week,” said Belvidere North quarterback Max Gyllenwan. “Everybody’s excited and ready to play. We didn’t have a great game against Boylan, and it was a close game with them. I think if we come out and play all four quarters, we can definitely win this game.”

“If we can get a ‘W’ on them, we’re controlling the conference,” said Zimmerman of his currently 6-0 Indians. “We know that North is going to be fighting tooth-and-nail. They know what’s on the line.”

NOTE: For highlights of this game and many more, watch “Overtime” Friday night live at 11 p.m. on Fox 39.