Two states, two teams, two rankings at No. 2. It's too good to be true.

Friday's senior night at Tanks Memorial Stadium will be secondary to the matchup of state powers as the Ironton Fighting Tigers, ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press Div. IV poll, host the Belfry Pirates,

the No. 2 ranked team in Class AA in Kentucky.

"Rankings are nice to give you something to talk about, but what really counts is what happens on the field," Ironton coach Bob Lutz said. "Regardless if they are ranked or not, Belfry is a good football team. They have a lot of size, as usual, and they have two outstanding running backs. We'll have to slow them down if we have a chance to win."

Both teams are 8-0 and feature powerful running games. Ironton has 2,587 yards rushing as a team and 384 passing. The defense has allowed 726 rushing and 537 passing.

Belfry has rushed for 2,459 yards and thrown for 293. The Pirates have given up 836 yards rushing and 248 passing.

Seniors Doug Howard and David Jones lead the ground game. The 5-foot-10, 205 pound Howard leads the team with 1,088 yards rushing on 92 carries with 15 touchdowns. Jones has 69 carries for 804 yards and has 14 TDs.

"Howard runs hard. With his size and strength, you don't arm tackle him," Lutz said. "Jones has good speed and can get outside. They're a good 1-2 punch, but you can't overlook the fullback. He has a some ability."

The fullback is Gary Childers (5-11, 205) and the quarterback is Adam Warren (6-2, 186).

The tight end is either Chad Steele (6-3, 182) or Aaron Chapman (6-2, 190). The split end in the wishbone formation is Matt Maynard (5-10, 150) or senior Chris Varney (5-9, 150).

"They don't throw a lot, but they're effective when the do," Lutz said.

The running backs can hide behind the offensive line that has 5-11, 240-pound Brandon Miller at center, Sammy Reed (6-1, 282) and Matt Smith (5-9, 220) at the guards, and Zach Staton (6-2, 3231) and Justin Gooslin (5-11, 202) at the tackles.

"They're size and strength create a lot of matchup problems for us on both sides of the ball," Lutz said.

Like Ironton, Belfry plays a 5-2 defensively.

David May (6-2, 337) and Smith share the nose guard position. Michael Hackney (5-9, 185) is one tackle while Tommy Church (5-9,170) and Matt Dotson (6-0, 350) split the duties on the right side.

Chapman and Gooslin are the ends with Howard and Childers the linebackers. The secondary has Jones and Varney at the corners with Devin Kohari (5-11, 153) and Maynard the safeties.

"Belfry has always been a very strong and aggressive defense and this year is no different," Lutz said.

Belfry is the defending Class AA state champion. The Pirates beat Elizabethtown 33-27 in the state finals last season as Jones ran for 202 yards and four touchdowns.