RIMERSBURG — Moniteau likes to grind it out on the ground. Union prefers to let it fly.

The styles will clash Friday night at Union High School.

The Warriors (1-6) and Golden Knights (3-4) are slated to kick off at 7 p.m. in a KSAC crossover matchup.

Union owns an explosive aerial assault, as Lane Cicciarelli has completed 49-of-98 pass attempts for 1,018 yards with 13 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The junior quarterback has the benefit of two play-making receivers in Shane Murphy and Chet Carmichael.

“That quarterback can throw,” said Moniteau coach Cecil Blauser. “He throws a nice ball and their receivers can go up and get it.”

Murphy leads the Butler County area with 423 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 17 catches. Carmichael is right behind him with 17 snags for 401 yards and three scores.

“Even on short passes, Chet Carmichael and Shane Murphy open the field up with their speed,” said Union coach Dave Louder. “Shane made one guy miss (last week) and just exploded for 83 yards on a little outside pass. It’s frustrating for a defense when you do that to them.”

To prepare, the Warriors have tried to replicate Union’s offense with a familiar face behind center. Adam Hobaugh, who was Moniteau’s starting quarterback in the late 1990s, recently joined the coaching staff and has been playing the role of scout-team QB in practice.

“I jokingly said, ‘Hey give me a call sometime if you want to coach.’ About three weeks ago, he took me up on it,” said Blauser. “He still has a cannon for an arm. He used to play at Allegheny College. We used him to simulate the quarterback from Union.

“It’s nice having that extra coach,” Blauser added. “I hope Adam can help our quarterbacks and we’ll take it from there.”

Moniteau is coming off its first win of the season — a 33-26 victory over St. Marys — and racked up 418 rushing yards, gaining 9.3 per attempt.

“The kids are really starting to see now that we can run the ball and move it,” said Blauser. “It should be a pretty good battle this week, our line versus their line.”

The Warriors are led by quarterback Cody Skiver, who ranks second in the Butler County area in total offense. The junior has racked up 630 passing yards and has 509 rushing.

“The quarterback for Moniteau is definitely a challenge,” said Louder. “He’s a dangerous runner and he likes to run when he gets pressured.”

Moniteau fullback Stephen Hagg is second on the squad with 384 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Dustin Geagan has emerged as a dual threat this season with 196 yards on the ground and 185 yards receiving. Trevor Shaffer leads the Warriors in receiving with 13 catches for 200 yards.

“Any one of them can get the ball on any play,” said Blauser. “It can create some mismatches for teams.”

“Geagan is always a threat and so is the fullback (Hagg),” said Louder. “Basically, we want to shut down the run, which has been our goal all year.”

Louder hopes to slow the Warriors with improved discipline on defense. The coach has spotted some red flags in film, despite allowing a combined 21 points over the past two games during wins over Kennedy Catholic and Clarion-Limestone.

“The more and more we looked at tape, the more we found ourselves out of position and guys not doing their job,” Louder explained. “That’s something we really need to nail down on to get better. I think we were very fortunate that our offense came together and had big plays.”

Union’s leading rusher Dylan Shirey will likely miss the game due to injury, but Cody Stockdill stepped in nicely with 91 yards and a score last week.

“He’s more of a bruiser than Dylan,” said Louder of Stockdill. “He’s a little inexperienced back there because he’s dealt with injuries on and off, but he did a nice job stepping up.”

After a tough stretch of games to begin the season, Blauser hopes to build off his team’s first taste of victory.

“They wanted to win that game. They have a little more pep in their step this week,” he said. “We didn’t start real well, but sometimes it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. That’s what people remember.

“If we can limit the big play and use a ball-control approach to the game, I think we’ll be OK.”