The Maple Grove Red Dragons are the top-ranked Class D football team in this week's New York State Sportswriters Association poll.
Chautauqua Lake is No. 6.
Believe it or not, that showdown between a pair of 3-0 teams might not be the best story coming out of Mayville on Friday night.
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JON SCROXTON
For regardless of your rooting interest - and the passions for both schools run deep - the one person who will be hard to ignore will be wearing jersey No. 77 in the red, white and black.
Jon Scroxton, according to Maple Grove coach Curt Fischer, is an ''amazing story.''
Miraculous may be more like it.
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On Aug. 25, the Red Dragons traveled to Depew for a preseason scrimmage. Scroxton said he felt fine before he took the field. Five minutes after the scrimmage was over, however, he felt pain in his abdomen and by the time he sat down to eat a post-scrimmage meal on the way home - he was in the company of a teammate's family - the discomfort was even worse.
Scroxton was taken to Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk and was examined in its emergency room. He was joined by his father, who had driven from Bemus Point.
''The doctor actually diagnosed it pretty quickly,'' Scroxton said. ''It was a shock, to say the least.''
The senior lineman didn't need a medical degree to understand the severity of his condition: acute pancreatitis and acute kidney failure.
By 8 o'clock that night, Scroxton was taken by ambulance to Children's Hospital in Buffalo where he was admitted to the intensive care unit. He remained in ICU for four days and wasn't released from the hospital until the following Sunday.
''They were supposed to release me on Saturday (Sept. 1), but my doctor was off that day and his associate hadn't seen my case,'' Scroxton said.
So that would mean he would have to miss watching the Red Dragons' season opener that night in Silver Creek.
Then, again, maybe not.
Saying they were going for a walk - which was permitted - Scroxton and his dad hopped in the car and drove to Silver Creek to watch the first half, which Maple Grove trailed, 8-7. Standing behind the fence to avoid the potential for injury, Scroxton later spoke to the team at intermission before returning to the hospital.
''I told them, 'You just needed to keep your head up and keep playing. If you're not going to play for yourselves, I'm not going to come back to a team with a losing record,''' Scroxton said.
Maple Grove, behind 232 rushing yards from Oliver Simpson, eventually won the game, 23-14.
The Red Dragons defeated Cattaraugus-Little Valley the next week to move to 2-0, but Scroxton still had not been cleared to play.
''The hardest part was sitting out that game,'' he said. '' ... Football is a huge part of my life and there was no way I was going to give that up.''
He wouldn't have to wait much longer.
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On Sept. 12, Scroxton was given medical clearance to begin practicing. He did so for one day and then last Friday he started on the offensive and defensive lines in the Red Dragons' victory over rival Randolph.
''This means so much to him,'' Fischer said after the win. ''He's got every player's back and he's been a great leader for three years now. It's hard to believe that he's back, but it isn't hard to believe that he's back.''
Although he lost 25 pounds initially, Scroxton, who says his normal playing weight is 235, figures he's regained five to 10 pounds since returning home.
''It felt great to be back playing again,'' he said. ''That's all I thought about when I was in the hospital was being on the field with my team. I wasn't super satisfied with the way I played (against Randolph), but that comes with the territory of getting better.''
A mid-90s student, Scroxton said he'd like to play football in college where he plans to pursue a career in physical therapy.
Asked what he has learned in the last month, he didn't hesitate with a response.
''I've learned about perseverance, I've learned about trying to get back to where I was and I've learned about patience trying to get there,'' he said. ''I also realized how much football meant to me.''
He was equally quick with advice for those facing obstacles - medical and otherwise.
''I'd tell them, 'Don't give up. There's nothing so bad that you can't overcome it.'''