CENTREVILLE — It always seems to come down to Centreville Academy and Central Private for the MAIS District 5-AA championship.

That’s what Tigers assistant coach Brian Stutzman said about his team’s game at 7 Friday night at Central Private.

With both teams having perfect 3-0 records in district play, the winner of Friday’s game will claim the district championship and the home playoff games that go with it.

Stutzman said it was important for Centreville to secure the district title, since it would give the Tigers home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

“If we lose, I believe it would be a situation of who has the most wildcard points, and I don’t think we have enough Wildcard points to host a home game,” Stutzman said.

When the Tigers and Rebels line up Friday night, Stutzman said two similar offenses would try their luck against two stout defenses.

“Coach (Mike) Longmire has been there for a while, and it’s sort of a friendly rivalry between the two schools,” Stutzman said.

“We expect them to do the same thing they’ve always done. I’m sure they’ll have a few wrinkles different, but for the most part they prefer to run the football like us.”

And Stutzman said the Rebels have several good athletes who can get that done.

“They have a really good receiver, and also a good fullback and tailback,” he said. “They have a lot of different people that they run in and out, similar to us.

“They don’t have one main go-to guy, but their 215-pound fullback is really tough. He’s been sick most of the year, so we look to get a heavy dose of him Friday. They will also mix in some sweeps, traps and screens.”

Stutzman also said the Rebels’ defense can bring a lot of heat to opposing quarterbacks.

“They get after you. They blitz a lot, and our offensive line will have to have their heads up and pick up the blitzes, or we won’t be able to move the football,” Stutzman said.