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NILES — Two of the best teams in Division 4 will square off for the Wolverine Conference championship at Viking Stadium Friday night.

Undefeated and third-ranked Paw Paw (8-0, 6-0 Wolverine) will travel to Niles to take on the No. 8-ranked Vikings, who are 7-1 overall and 6-0 in league contests. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

For Niles, Friday night is a chance for the Vikings to end its championship drought, which dates back to 2001 when they won the SMAC West Division crown. It was the first year that the SMAC played in two divisions.

The 22-year drought means that all the players on the current Niles roster were still four or more years away from being born.

The Vikings will not only be trying to win the outright Wolverine Conference title, but lock up a spot in the postseason and perhaps a home game, as well as, post the school’s best record since Niles went 9-0 in 1969 and 9-1 in 1978 and 1979.

This will be the third meeting between the Red Wolves and the Vikings. The series is tied at 1-1. Paw Paw defeated the Vikings 35-18 in 2021, while Niles won the contest 49-8 last season.

Veteran Niles Coach Scot Shaw said his team knows the history and what is at stake.

“We talk in terms of just taking care of business,” he said. “We have put ourselves in a position to achieve our preseason goal of a conference championship.”

Shaw said that the Red Wolves offensively are similar to Edwardsburg. He also said it would be the best opponent they have faced since taking Lakeshore in week No. 2.

“Paw Paw is a good team and will be better than we have seen since game two,” he said. Their offense is similar to Edwardsburg, and we will have to be alert for play-action. Defensively, they run to the ball well and have not given up a whole lot of points.”

The Red Wolves are led by halfback Ben Miller, who has rushed for 1,205 yards and nine touchdowns, and PJ DeYoung, who has rushed for 1,026 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Niles is averaging 50.5 points per game on offense, which is third-best in the state of Michigan. Defensively, the Vikings allow just 6.5 points per game, which is the eighth-best in the state.

The Vikings are led by fullback Paul Hess, who has rushed for 843 yards and 17 touchdowns, wingback Julian Means-Flewellen, who has rushed for 533 yards and six touchdowns, and wingback Sam Rucker, who has rushed for 413 yards. Quarterback Talon Brawley has thrown for 379 yards and five touchdowns, while he has rushed for 377 yards and scored 10 touchdowns.

Niles has played well in all phases of the game, and will need to do so again Friday night.

“Special teams are always important in a game,” Shaw said. “We have been pretty solid in those areas and have even excelled in them most of the year.”

When Shaw took over the program three years ago, the Vikings had six consecutive losing seasons. Since then, the Vikings have gone from 5-4 in 2021 to 6-5 last year to 7-1 this season. Shaw said that the players have put in the work, both in the offseason and during the season, to keep improving.

“Our seniors bought into the program as sophomores when I first arrived, and they have worked hard to get our program established,” he said. “They now know things in both of our offense and defense as veterans and can execute it very well. Not only are they very good athletes, they are experienced and hungry.”

The Vikings also know what Friday night will mean moving forward.

“We have talked about the importance of winning a championship whenever and wherever you are given that opportunity,” Shaw said. “This will be a great achievement if we get it done. We have talked about if we win no one can take it away.”