King’s Fork High School faces a fellow 1-0 Southeastern District opponent, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy takes on a defending state champion and Lakeland High School visits a perennial district powerhouse. Nansemond River High School has a bye this week.

Hickory (1-0) at King’s Fork (1-0) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Bulldogs 37, Hawks 14

King’s Fork followed up its 24-17 season-opening win at Smithfield High School with a bye week that it has put to good use, adding some things to its game plan and letting guys heal up.

“We’re in pretty good shape,” Bulldogs coach Joe Jones said. “Austin Williams is back, ‘Debo’ (Deshaun Wethington) is back. The only guy still out is Phillip LeClair with his injury.”

KF will need linemen like Williams to face Hickory High School, known for having formidable lines.

“I don’t think they’re as big as they’ve been in the past, but they’re still big,” Jones said. “They’ve got good size up front, they’re a very well-disciplined team and very well-coached.”

The Hawks run a Wing-T offense, which employs misdirection and deception, but Bulldogs defensive coordinator David Waddell, defensive/offensive line coach Mike Newhall and offensive coordinator Shaka Miller are well-acquainted with the style.

“They’ve got a good understanding of it and have worked hard on it the last two weeks to get our guys familiar and knowing what to expect,” Jones said.

Fredericksburg Christian (0-1) at Nansemond-Suffolk (1-1) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Eagles 23, Saints 22

Nansemond-Suffolk will be looking to rebound from last week’s 27-6 home loss to Bishop Ireton High School, a game that Saints coach Lew Johnston found particularly frustrating.

“It was one of those that I feel like we just handed away to them, but certainly we could have played a whole lot better,” he said. Alluding on Thursday to the work put in this week, he added, “Hopefully we’re going to see some improvement tomorrow night.”

Fredericksburg Christian School is the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division III defending state champion, but it lost a lot from its 2014 squad. The Eagles’ head coach retired, they graduated a number of players and others transferred, Johnston said.

“It’s not the team that we went up against last year,” he said on Thursday. “We are fully expecting to play well and get a ‘W’ tomorrow night.”

Key Eagles players that NSA will be looking to stop include senior running back Edward Raymond and senior quarterback Austin Simmons.

The Saints will have junior linebacker KeShaun Moore back from injury.

Lakeland (0-1) at Western Branch (0-1) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Bruins 35, Cavaliers 16

Lakeland played its way into a tight game with visiting Woodrow Wilson High School in last Friday’s season opener but has had to push on from what became a heart-breaking 23-16 loss.

“I think the guys rebounded, responded well,” Cavaliers coach Kevin Knight said. “We talked about it, and we moved on to Western Branch. We’ve had a focused week. I think guys are ready to go.”

Western Branch High School has had to rebound from a tough season-opening loss last Friday, as well. The Bruins fell 35-0 to Cocoa High School out of Florida.

Similar to the challenges King’s Fork will be going through with Hickory, the Cavs must contend with a Bruins offense that is one of misdirection and deception.

“They’re good at what they do as far as everybody being disciplined and knowing their responsibilities,” Knight said. “That Wing (offense), it’s different, it’s like old school football, but we’ve prepared for it.”

The Cavaliers will still be without injured starting freshman offensive guard Jayree Hardy.