Until they prove otherwise, Smyrna High and Middletown will be considered two of the top contenders to win the big-schools football state title.

Since 2016, the Eagles and Cavaliers have eight championship-game appearances. Last fall marked the third time the two neighboring programs have faced each other in the finals.

Tonight, Smyrna gets its chance for revenge when it plays its annual Harvest Bowl contest at Middletown at 7 p.m. It's part of another busy weekend in local football.

Andy Walter, Delaware State News: 20-5
Tim Mastro, Delaware State News: 19-6
Glenn Frazer, 302 Sports: 20-5

Friday’s games

Southern, Md. (1-1) at Seaford (2-0), 6 p.m.

A second-straight win over Southern would give the Blue Jays their first 3-0 start in a long time.

AW: Seaford, 21-14; TM: Seaford, 28-14; GF: Seaford, 28-17.

Smyrna (1-0) at Middletown (0-1), 7 p.m.

Eagles have played some great games against the Cavs must have lost five straight to their Harvest Bowl rivals on the field.

AW: Mid, 17-14; TM: Middletown, 21-20; GF: Middletown, 17-16.

Milford (2-0) at Lake Forest (1-0), 7 p.m.

The Battle of the Bell rivalry has been pretty even lately with the two teams splitting their last six games.

AW: Lake, 20-14; TM: Milford, 28-22; GF: Lake Forest, 21-20.

Caesar Rodney (0-2) at Appoquinimink (0-1), 7 p.m.

The Riders will take another shot at their first victory vs. an Appo team it only lost to 6-0 a season ago.

AW: Appo, 24-7; TM: Appo, 21-6; GF: Appo, 17-6.

Caravel (1-0) at Sussex Tech (1-1), 7 p.m.

The Ravens would like to be more competitive with the Bucs than they were last season in a 42-point loss.

AW: Caravel, 32-15; TM: Caravel, 28-14; GF: Caravel, 20-14.

St. Mark’s (2-0) at Woodbridge (0-1), 7 p.m.

The Blue Raiders are 3-0 against the Spartans since the programs first started playing each other in 2017.

AW: Woodbridge, 23-21; TM: St. Mark’s, 33-21; GF: St. Mark’s, 28-14.

First State Military (0-1) at Polytech (0-1), 7 p.m.

Both Class 1A District II Kent County squads would love to finish the game owning a .500 record.

AW: Polytech, 27-13; TM: Polytech, 35-14; GF: Polytech, 20-6.

Laurel (2-0) at Early College (0-1), 7 p.m.

The defending Class 1A state champion Bulldogs come to Dover having won their first two games by a combined, 76-7.

AW: 56-6; TM: Laurel, 45-6; GF: Laurel, 44-0.

St. Georges (1-0) at Dover (1-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Senators beat the Hawks twice last season but neither victory came easily, including a 9-7 state tourney win.

AW: Dover, 24-17; TM: Dover, 28-21; GF: Dover, 21-16.

Delmar (0-1) at Red Lion Christian (0-1), 7:30 p.m.

The Wildcats are hoping to bounce back from a 25-point setback to Wilm. Friends in their season opener.

AW: Delmar, 16-13; TM: Delmar, 20-13; GF: Delmar, 14-13.

Indian River (0-1) at Odessa (0-1), 7:30 p.m.

Neither squad wants to have to deal with digging out of a 0-2 hole if they lose again tonight in a Class 3A matchup.

AW: IR, 20-12; TM: IR, 17-14; GF: IR, 17-10.

Saturday’s games

Cape Henlopen (1-1) at William Penn (1-1), 1:30 p.m.

A second-straight victory for Cape would already give the Vikings more wins than it had all last season.

AW: Cape, 27-15; TM: Cape, 31-16; GF: Cape, 24-14.

Hodgson (1-1) at Sussex Central (2-0), 7 p.m.

Sussex Central’s defense is coming off a shutout of Salesianum as it looks to remain unbeaten in the early season.

AW: Central, 35-7; TM: Central, 28-6; GF: Sussex Central, 28-8.

College

Delaware (0-0, 2-0) at Rhode Island (1-0, 2-0) 1 p.m.

The Blue Hens are out to avenge a tough loss at URI last season in a showdown of nationally-ranked CAA programs.

AW: Delaware, 28-24; TM: UD, 28-27; GF: Delaware, 27-20.

Va. Univ. of Lynchburg (0-2) at Delaware State (1-1), 2 p.m.

The Hornets have handled VUL by a combined 97-13 in the first two meetings between the two schools.

AW: DelState, 53-6; TM: DSU, 56-7; GF: DelState, 17-10.