Lakeland High School’s football team will represent Suffolk on the road tonight, while the city’s other three high school football teams play host.

King’s Fork, Lakeland and Nansemond River high schools face opponents tonight that they beat last year, but Nansemond-Suffolk Academy is looking to avenge its 2014 loss to a conference rival tonight.

Western Branch (2-1) at King’s Fork (2-1) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Bulldogs 14, Bruins 7

The Bulldogs are coming off a 50-21 loss to Indian River High School, which has suddenly become a heavy hitter in the Southeastern District, and now the Bulldogs must face one of the district’s well-established heavy hitters tonight.

King’s Fork coach Joe Jones said his team is used to short turnarounds against strong teams.

“We don’t have much time to savor the victory or brood over the defeat,” he said. “We’ve got to get ready for the next game, and that’s what we did this week.”

But they must do it without senior defensive back/slotback Quadarius Boyd, who will likely be out four to five games after suffering a knee injury on the opening kickoff against the Braves.

When it comes to Western Branch High School, Jones said, “As always, they’ve got good size, they’ve got good speed and they’ve got good athletes.”

Key to the Bruins’ modified Wing-T offense is junior running back Keith Bryant, and the offense is also bolstered by senior quarterback Jacob Wilson, a Great Bridge High School transfer.

Bishop Sullivan (1-2) at Nansemond-Suffolk (3-1) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Crusaders 62, Saints 40

For Nansemond-Suffolk, tonight’s game against Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School is a big one.

“It’s a game we’ve been pointing toward for about 12 months,” Saints coach Lew Johnston said. “We were not happy with the way things went last year, and we sort of circled it on our schedule as something to look forward to.”

Standout Bishop Sullivan quarterback Blake LaRussa has graduated and moved on to Old Dominion University, but the Crusaders still have talent that makes them dangerous.

Johnston said they seem to have settled on First Colonial High School transfer Bobby Price to play quarterback. The senior throws the ball well, but Johnston is particularly concerned about his ability to gain yardage on broken plays.

NSA will also have to be aware of twins Breyon and Brandon Gaddy, junior transfers from Booker T. Washington High School. Brandon Gaddy, a tight end/defensive end, has several college offers, and Breyon Gaddy, at 6-feet 4-inches and 320 pounds, is one of the top defensive tackles in the nation.

Lakeland (0-3) at Great Bridge (0-3) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Cavaliers 33, Wildcats 27

Great Bridge’s head coach recently resigned, and the Wildcats are coming off of a 65-0 road loss to Western Branch, but Lakeland coach Kevin Knight is not taking them lightly.

“Their kids play hard for four quarters,” he said. “They fight.”

He is expecting the Wildcats to show a similar look on offense to the one they have had for the past few years, despite the in-season coaching change.

“I’m sure they didn’t change too much,” Knight said. “They like to spread the ball out, and they can run the ball, so we’ve got to do what we’ve practiced to do.”

The Cavaliers’ first priority on offense will be to establish the run, and they will attempt to do so with the trio of junior Damontra Milteer, freshman Ricardo Ray and sophomore DeAndre Faulk.

“If we find a hot hand, we might stay with that hot hand,” Knight said.

Back from injury for Lakeland will be standout junior wide receiver/cornerback Alajuwun Langston, who Knight said had a great week of practice.

Hickory (1-2) at Nansemond River (2-1) – 7 p.m.

Last season: Warriors 21, Hawks 17

Nansemond River coach David Coccoli has a key goal for his team entering tonight’s contest against Hickory High School.

“I don’t think we’ve played a complete game,” he said, noting the Warriors had a bad second quarter during last Friday’s 38-3 home victory over Deep Creek High School. “We want to try to compete for a full game, see how it goes.”

Hickory is looking for its first win against an in-state opponent, fresh off of blowout losses to King’s Fork and Grassfield High School.

Coccoli pointed to the Hawks’ offense as one that requires different preparation from any other one the Warriors face as it features both Wing-T and single-wing formations.

Hickory features a big line led by junior Tyler Trexler and sophomore Tommy Sevcik. They help give running room to senior running backs Stephen Anderson and Chris Muratore.