NEW ULM — Last week, all three local high school football teams earned wins and all are hoping that Week 3 brings the same results.

Both Minnesota Valley Lutheran and New Ulm Cathedral have road contests at Le Sueur-Henderson and Red Rock Central on Friday night, with the New Ulm Eagles at home Friday for Homecoming when they host Tri-City United at the high school field.

All three games have 7 p.m. kickoffs.

MINNESOTA VALLEY LUTHERAN (2-0) AT LE SUEUR-HENDERSON (0-2), 7 P.M., FRIDAY,

LE SUEUR

The Giants enter this game with a 38-22 loss to Redwood Valley and a 19-7 loss to Pipestone Area.

Chargers head coach Jim Buboltz said that both losses were close games.

“[LSH] played exceptionally well,” he said. “They have a nice offensive plan — they like to pound their big fullback with a power running game up front. Then they will try and spread you out and hit some guys in the flat and on some deep passes also. They are a good-sized team. They ran some good offense.”

The Giants will have a size advantage up front on the Chargers.

“So it is just a matter of us getting to where we need to get to to stop that running game,” Buboltz said. “We need to get that big fullback down because he is a big kid. This will be a test for our defense as a whole — I think that we need to tighten up our pass defense and try and get some pressure on the quarterback — he does like to roll out a lot — so our ends have to contain that.”

Last season, the Chargers defeated the Giants 54-16. Buboltz said that this year’s Giants team is quite a bit improved from last year.

“They got better as the year went on,” he said. “They have worked hard to get this offense in place. They are in the second year of a rebuild.”

Buboltz feels that the key for the Chargers will be to use their running game to keep the Giants size off of the field on offense.

“That is where it starts with us,” he said. “We need to get our guys right in the blocking schemes and getting up to the second level. They have a good set of linebackers who are also their running backs. This game will be a formidable challenge.”

Buboltz said offensively he wants to get his quarterback Kaden Peterson more comfortable in the air game.

“We need more ball-control passing to where we can get decent yardage on first down, which can help if we want to go back to the run on second and third downs.”

One factor that will have an effect not only on this game but all games Friday night is the heat, with temperatures expected to be in the mid-80s at game time.

“That will be tough for both teams,” Buboltz said. “It will be a full week of practicing in the heat and then a game in the heat. Hopefully our stamina will be a little bit better — they have that big line and big running back that can be pretty punishing in the heat.

“Depth and having the next guy up will be important. But as the season goes on, you tend to find some surprises in some kids. Everybody has to be ready to go — I think that special teams will be big in the heat.”

Buboltz feels that with the anticipated heat, getting that first score and playing tough defense will be a big key.

NEW ULM CATHEDRAL (1-1) AT RED ROCK

CENTRAL (1-1) 7 P.M., FRIDAY, LAMBERTON

Looking at the scores from the Falcons’ first two games this year will show a big range of scores.

Red Rock Central opened the season with a 40-6 loss to Renville County West before rebounding last week with a 46-14 win over Buffalo Lake-Hector/Stewart.

“This is a typical Red Rock team in that they want to play physical, they want to run straight at you at times,” Cathedral head coach Denny Lux said. “On defense, their linebackers are going to put a lot of pressure on our line of scrimmage. Coach Isaac Jenniges and his guys to a great job with their players — he has been there a number of years now so you know what to expect when you play them.”

Carter Therkilsen led the Falcons in last Friday’s win over Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, racking up 286 yards and five touchdowns on just 12 carries. He will undoubtedly be the man to stop if the Greyhounds want to see success on defense.

Lux said that size-wise, the Greyhounds and the Falcons match up pretty well.

As far as looking at the wide range of scores for the Falcons’ first two games, Lux said it is probably because they have a number of new players.

“They were senior-heavy last year so it seems to me that their newer payers just needed some time to get acclimated to what they are doing on offense and defense,” he said. “It showed last week with that big win.”

Lux said he’s looking for the Falcons to try to move his team around and run some trap plays.

“The Falcons like to run some inside traps — they will move you around a little — but they are pretty much going to come at you and make you play them one-on-one,” he said. “When they get down to the goal line they will spread the field, give you five wideouts with an opportunity for the quarterback to run if he can. So the offense is probably more wide open then it was last year.”

Lux said that it will be a big test for the Greyhounds defense.

“We felt really good about how we played against Cedar Mountain (allowing just 8 points), but that game is in the past now and now we have to go forward.”

Lux also feels that the anticipated warm weather will play a factor.

“It will be a big factor for every game that is played Friday in southern Minnesota,” he said. “We are going to work a number of guys — we are fortunate to have the depth that we do. We have 22 guys on the varsity so that may come into play.

“We will be aware of our guys to make sure we are not wearing out — we have quite a few two-way players, but we do have guys ready to step in. We will give those guys more reps in practice — this will be a game where you want to have those guys come in and give your starters a break.”

TRI-CITY UNITED (1-1) AT NEW ULM HIGH SCHOOL (2-0), 7 P.M., FRIDAY, NEW ULM HIGH SCHOOL

The Titans are coming into a meeting with the Eagles off of a 16-7 win over Sibley East last week, while the Eagles are back home after a dominating 27-7 road win over Albert Lea last week.

New Ulm High School head coach Derek Lieser said that the Titans had a tough game their first week with a 42-0 loss to Fairmont.

“That score is not indicative about the quality of their program,” Lieser said. “They want to take advantage of our Homecoming with all of the distractions. They have some nice athletes and they try and get them the ball — they use a lot of motion on offense.”

He said that defensively, the Titans’ linebackers are physical and flow to the football.

Lieser said that statistically, Tri-City United will try and run the ball.

“But when they do throw they are very efficient,” Lieser said. “Because they are so reliant on their run game, they can catch teams napping — they complete passes at a high clip when they do throw. We need to stop the run and minimize throws down the field and make them one-dimensional.”

TCU is bigger than the Eagles on the line.

“Their right tackle is bigger than any kid that we have on our team — to me they resemble a lot of Belle Plaine.

“We do not match in that size category, but we are going to try and use our physicality, aggressiveness and our speed — we want to be able to take that second step first. We want to reestablish that line of scrimmage using our speed.”

Offensively the Eagles, under quarterback Preston Holberg, have moved the ball effectively, scoring 33 and 27 points in their first two games.

“I have been happy overall with our ability to move the ball,” Lieser said. “From Week 1 to Week 2, we corrected mistakes. Football is a game of 11-on-11 and if 10 guys do their job and one guy doesn’t it can go from a 7-yard play to a 30-yard play. We have emphasized that one play matters.”

Lieser also said that he has been happy with the performance of his offensive line in keeping Holberg upright.

The Eagles have also hope to break a four-game losing streak to the Titans.

“They are one of those teams that we have not getting over the hump against yet,” Lieser said. “It would be nice to get the money off of our back with a win Friday. We want to put on display the work that we have been doing all week in practice.”

And the heat will also play a factor for the Eagles and the Titans, especially on the artificial turf.

“Both teams will have to play through that — we play seven of our eight games on turf — but we talked from Week 1 to Week 2 about taking care of our bodies and hydrating all week and not just on Friday.

“We did not have anyone cramp in Week 2 — we need to take care of the body. We do have depth and that is something that we are priding ourselves on in getting a lot of guys in the game even if that player is in for just one play. He needs to be ready.”