A rivalry that's picked up quite a bit of steam over the last couple of seasons is renewed Friday night when seventh-ranked John Tyler heads south to face unbeaten Whitehouse from Wildcat Stadium.

The opener in District 16-5A, one of the most talked-about and loaded districts in all of Texas, is the ETSN.fm/Dairy Queen Game of the Week.

For the past two seasons, the John Tyler/Whitehouse game has fallen on the final night of the regular season, and has decided a district championship.

In 2012, second-ranked John Tyler overcame a 24-0 first-half deficit by rallying in the second half for a wild 45-38 victory over previously unbeaten Whitehouse. Last season, Whitehouse had to thwart a potential game-winning two-point conversion to survive JT, 55-54, preserving the school's first-ever undefeated regular season.

John Tyler RB Jeremy Wilson. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
John Tyler RB Jeremy Wilson. (Christopher R. Vinn, ETSN.fm)
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Friday's matchup will be just the fifth in series history. All four previous meetings have occurred in the last four seasons with John Tyler capturing wins in three of the four.

Both John Tyler (2-1) and Whitehouse (3-0) are coming off bye weeks.

Two weeks ago, John Tyler was upset by crosstown rival Tyler Lee, 37-31, a loss that knocked the Lions from the No. 1 ranking in the Associated Press Class 5A poll.

John Tyler is led by senior quarterback Geovari McCollister, who enters Friday's game with 606 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior running back Jeremy Wilson leads the team with 318 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 42 carries.

Defensively, the Lions are anchored by junior defensive tackle Braylon Jones, senior linebacker Jaylon Reese, senior cornerback and Purdue commit Isaac Warren, and junior safety Bryston Gipson.

Whitehouse is 3-0 for the third consecutive year, having scored non-district wins over Texas High (38-35), Chapel Hill (52-42) and Sulphur Springs (56-35).

Senior quarterback Jackson Allen has passed for 914 yards with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. Senior running back Vincent Dunning leads the Wildcats with 321 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 65 attempts.

On defense, Whitehouse is sparked by linebackers Dominique Hollie and Dillan Klein, safety and Texas A&M commit Justin Dunning, and cornerback and North Texas pledge Nate Brooks.

Be sure to check out the John Tyler-Whitehouse game preview Wednesday morning on ETSN.fm, follow staff writer Clint Buckley (@ClintBuckley) for updates throughout the game, and head back to ETSN.fm late Friday night or early Saturday morning for complete game coverage.

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