On Friday at 7 o’clock a war will begin pitting two cousins against each other where only one will emerge victorious.

At 7 o’clock, head coach Brandon Clark leads his Derby Panthers onto the field to face the players coached by his cousin, Joel Applebee of Mill Valley.

This game is not just a battle of two very competitive cousins; this game also features a battle between two of the top teams in each of their respective classes. Mill Valley represents 5A as the newly crowned No. 1; Derby represents 6A, ranked No. 3.

On the road to this week three showdown of two top teams, Mill Valley beat St. Thomas Aquinas — at the time ranked No. 1 in 5A — 38-20, and then rolled over Blue Valley Northwest 40-6. Derby won its home opener against Maize 42-20, and in week two the team also won its first game on the road against Salina Central 54-20, thanks to an amazing six-touchdown game by senior quarterback Brady Rust.

Applebee formerly coached at Derby as its defensive coordinator for four years before accepting the head coaching job at Mill Valley. Applebee rebuilt Mill Valley’s program just as his cousin did at Derby.

In 2014 the coaches’ teams faced each other for the first time, and Derby won the match-up 35-14, partially due to several of Mill Valley’s starters being benched.

Knowing each other all their lives makes this game a little harder for both coaches to make play calls. Another reason this is a good game is because of the fact that they used to be on the same coaching staff.

It will be interesting to see who gets the upperhand on Friday, and who will walk home with the title of The Winner of The Cousin Bowl 2.
— commentary by Owen Berk