RUMFORD – The hoots and hollers already sounded like pregame level. The heightened anticipation is obvious as the Mountain Valley football goes through its warm-ups.

But it is not game day, and the Falcons are just getting ready for practice on what they call Lake Falcon, a so-called field that resembles more of a mud puddle than football turf just outside the school doors. It is Wednesday, and the Falcons already appear ready to play.

“I wish it was tonight,” said Falcon senior tackle Thaddeus Bennett. “It is hard to wait, but it’s fun to keep it all in and just let it all out on Friday night, especially at Hosmer Field. Our seniors are going to come out fired up and hopefully, the rest of the team will be fired up with us.”

The Falcons host Greely Friday in a rematch of a 35-7 win in September, and the team already has its juices flowing. The winner advances to the regional final the following week.

“We just like to go out and play,” said senior quarterback Andy Shorey. “That’s what a lot of us live for. We wait for those Friday nights all week, and this is the last Friday night.”

One thing Jim Aylward doesn’t have to fret about is whether his team is focused or primed for action. That is usually a given with his Falcons.

“We’re always ready to play,” said Aylward, who said his team was already itching to hit somebody by midweek. “I rarely have to worry about the effort I get from them. It’s a matter of whether we make mistakes.”

It was miscues that allowed Greely (5-4) to score the first points against the Falcons (9-0) this season, breaking a string of 18 straight quarters without allowing a point. The Falcons botched a punt and then aided Greely with a penalty early in the third quarter. After the Rangers scored to make it 20-7, Greely was held to minus yards and no first downs the rest of the way.

Justin Staires led the Falcons offense with three touchdowns and 287 total yards. He also limited Greely’s receiver Caleb Jordan to four catches and 51 yards. Shorey and Matt Glover led a ferocious defense that produced six sacks.

“I expect them to pass to Jordan,” said Shorey. “So we’ve got to keep pressure on their quarterback so he can’t sit back there all day.”

The Rangers had six completions and 67 yards passing but had minus-27 yards on the ground. Aylward expects Greely to look for a better combination offensively.

“They seemed to not even make an attempt to run the ball against us,” said Aylward. “I expect them to try to run and be a little more balanced in the offense.”

Despite success in the first game, Aylward is emphasizing a start from scratch. Mountain Valley suffered bitter disappointment in the regional final to York last year. So the Falcons know better than to take things for granted.

“I want to look at it like we’re playing for the first time and preparing for them as hard as we did the first time we played them,” said senior back Devin Roberts.

The Falcons are focused on their own effectiveness. They like to beat teams physically and frustrate them defensively. The offense likes to pound the ball down opponents throats, but Shorey has a pretty nifty passing game he can unveil. The key, says Aylward, is to make sure his club capitalizes on its chances, especially early.

“The first two times we had the ball, we took it inside the 10-yard line and didn’t score,” said Aylward of the first Greely game. “We did the same thing against Cape. I told the kids, ‘We’ve got to finish off drives.'”

Coming off a battle of unbeatens and an 18-6 win over Cape in the regular-season finale, the Falcons are primed for another crucial game this week.

“I think it keeps our intensity level up,” said Roberts. “We’re always ready to take on whatever comes at us. Big game after big game kind of keeps us going.”