The Pike Liberal Arts Patriots return to region play this evening when they travel to take on the rival Fort Dale Eagles in Greenville.

The Patriots have an undefeated record, both overall and in region play. After playing two games against Lee-Scott and Abbeville Christian, the Patriots are ready for a stretch run against region opponents.

“It’s always good to get back into region play,” said head coach Gene Allen. “It gets everyone’s concentration to where it needs to be. Plus, it’s a big rival for us, so that helps also.”

The rivalry with Fort Dale spreads across all sports for the two teams. It’s a rivalry game that neither team likes to lose.

“I know Fort Dale doesn’t like us to beat them in anything and we don’t like them beating us in anything,” Allen said. “These kids have known each other forever. It’s just one of those games where you don’t want to come out on the losing end of the stick.”

The Patriots won both of their non-region games by a combined 87 points. They knocked off Abbeville Christian last week 65-13.

“They have taken it one game at a time,” Allen said. “Last week would have been really easy to slip and do some stuff when you are playing a team that hasn’t won a lot of games and it’s homecoming. I was really pleased with the way we came out and played.”

The Eagles are coming off a 24-8 loss to Hooper Academy last week and find themselves with a 2-4 overall record and are 0-2 in the region.

In the Eagles’ only two wins of the season, they have averaged 40.5 points. In their four losses, 17.

“They’re struggling a little bit this year compared to what they have been in the past,” Allen said. “It’s a rivalry game and they are going to want to beat us. They have two or three different offensives this year trying to find something that suits them a little better. We assume they will go back to what they have been doing. We’ve seen different kinds of offenses this year, so we feel pretty good about being able to adjust to whatever they are doing.”

The Patriots defeated the Eagles last year 20-14. Kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.

“We just have to keep getting better at what we are trying to do,” Allen said. “Just keep getting a little better each week.”