NEW MANCHESTER — The battle of the unbeatens may come down to the battle of the trenches.

The Toronto and Oak Glen football teams are set to meet this week with their undefeated records on the line.

“Absolutely, it is a big game,” Toronto (4-0) head coach Jaret Aubiel said.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday night up at the Bears’ Den.

“It’s a big test for us,” first-year Oak Glen (3-0) head coach TJ Miller said. “They’re very good. We have a lot of respect for those guys. It is a big game, for sure.”

Toronto enters this week’s matchup coming off a 26-16 win against Newcomerstown last Friday night at home at Clarke Hinkle Field. The Red Knights built a 26-0 advantage early in the third quarter before the Trojans answered with 16 straight points to make it a ballgame once again before the boys from the Gem City were able to close the door on a comeback in the fourth.

“We came out ready to play,” Aubiel said. “We executed our gameplan. We got off to a great start. We put together a good gameplan. We faced some adversity, but the kids did a good job of handling it.”

On the other side, Oak Glen enters this week’s game fresh off a 43-0 victory at hone against Belpre.

“We did a good offensively early on,” Miller said. “We did some different things. We showed some different looks. Maddox (Bowen) made some good throws. Logan (Murray) ran the ball well. Maddox spread the ball around. He got the ball to Cam Carter, Devan Juszczak, Josh Maher and Chase Hartung. He spread the ball around.”

The Red Knights have tallied at least 26 points in all four of their wins.

“They have good size,” Miller said. “They have some big guys. They have a strong running game. Their quarterback can run. Drake Bouscher is a really good running back. They have another weapon on offense in Brady Fair. They have a lot of speed. They have good size. They can run and pass. They can mix it up. They want to establish the running game. They are a very good football team.”

The Golden Bears have shown the ability to score plenty of points this season as the boys from Hancock County have collected at least 32 points in all three of their wins so far this season.

“Oak Glen is a really good football team,” Aubiel said. “They are well coached. They have a lot of good athletes. They can run, and they can pass. Defensively, it makes it tough to take something away. They are a real solid football team. They’re going to be a challenge for us.”

The Golden Bears have only allowed 32 points this season with some of those points coming late in games in which Oak Glen was well ahead.

“Defensively, they have a pretty good line,” Aubiel said. “They have a good secondary. They are fundamentally sound on defense.”

The Red Knigts have allowed 41 points on defense, but many of those have come with the outcome of their games having already been decided.

“Their secondary is pretty good,” Miller said. “They get to the football well. They’re good tacklers. They have good size up front. They’re aggressive on defense. They are going to give us trouble. They are quick. They have good athletes. We are going to have to come up with a good gameplan, and we are going to have to execute that plan. We are going to have to be ready to go. We are going to have to get after it.”

The game may come down to what team controls the line of scrimmage.

“They are real big up front,” Aubiel said. “Their line moves really well. On our side, I think our line is one of our strengths. It is going to be a battle of the trenches. It is going to come down to the lines. It is going to be a challenge for us.

“It’s two undefeated teams. It is going to be a big challenge. We are excited for it.”

The Golden Bears have done a good job up front through their first three games.

“They want to establish their running game,” Miller said about the Red Knights. “They want to run the ball. We want to run the ball. Our offensive line has been great. They’re a close group. They work well together. It is going to be a battle up front.”

Friday night is Senior Night for Oak Glen.

“There is going to be a big crowd,” Miller said. “There is going to be a lot of energy. We’re excited. It is going to be a great Friday night.”

Oak Glen is trying to not get caught up in all of the hoopla surrounding Friday night’s game.

“We have talked to them about that,” Miller said. “We had a good practice and film session Saturday. We had another good practice Monday. We have talked to the kids about the mental side. That is something we have talked about all season and all summer.

“We have to be mentally focused. We have to be able to handle adversity the right way. We have been stressing this to them all season. We have to be able to handle adversity. We have a lot of goals we want to accomplish in the short term and in the long term. We have to be focused to achieve those goals.”

The boys from Jefferson County are focused on the job at hand.

“We can’t have turnovers, and we need to execute the gameplan,” Aubiel said. “We have to play fundamentally sound on defense. If we do those things, hopefully we are able to get out of their with a win.”

For the hosts, everything starts up front.

“The biggest thing for us is we have to win the line of scrimmage,” Miller said. “We have to take care of the football. We have to execute. We have to be disciplined on both sides of the ball. We have to take care of the football. We have to be disciplined.

“We’re excited. It is a big game. It is Senior Night. There is going to be a great crowd. The support from the community and from the school has been great.”

Toronto defeated Oak Glen, 53-13, last season at home.