CENTREVILLE — With three non-district games out of the way, Centreville Academy host the undefeated Central Private School Rebels Friday at 7 p.m. in the MPSA District 5-AA opener for the Tigers.

Centreville goes into the game at 2-1 overall and ranked No. 5 in Class AA after a 34-8 win over ACCS. Central Private is 3-0 overall and 1-0 in district play.

“It’s our first district game. Each district game is tough, but we approach it one game at a time,” Centreville assistant coach Brian Stutzman said.

Central Private’s offense is led by senior quarterback Corey Santangelo and sophomore running back Bobby Muse.

“They run a spread set and also an I-backfield or pro set,” Stutzman said. “They run the ball some, but their quarterback can throw the ball. He’s an above-average quarterback.”

While Centreville’s defense will be focused on slowing Muse down, they can’t afford to let Santangelo run the ball when no one is open.

“Muse has broke several long runs. He’s fast and tough,” Stutzman said. “Santangelo runs the ball some, too.”

Central Private will use either a split-4 or a 5-3 defense. The Rebels will go with both to try to confuse the Tigers’ offense.

To counter that, Stutzman said his team will use a good mix of the power running game led by senior running back Nick Goudeau and the passing game led by junior quarterback Kyle Brown to keep the defense honest.

“They like to blitz a lot. We’ve been throwing the ball better than we have in recent years,” Stutzman said. “Nick broke one run for 61 yards. We’re going to try to throw the ball a few times when they’re blitzing.”

With a good chance of rain Friday night, turnovers could play a big factor in determining the outcome of this game. And as Stutzman noted, with the type of ball-control offense Centreville runs, the Tigers cannot afford to turn the ball over at all.