Warwick Vets and Mt. Hope are not exactly rivals, but in each of the last two football seasons, few games were more important for either team than the match-ups between Hurricanes and Huskies. They met in the final game of league play both years, with a playoff berth on the line both times.

This year’s meeting comes a little earlier, with a lot less pressure, but it’s important in its own way. The teams are side-by-side again, but in a different boat, after graduation claimed most of the players that paved the way for playoff contention the last two years.

When they meet Friday in Bristol, they’ll both be looking for their first league win – and a step in the right direction.

“It’s a little different atmosphere,” said Vets coach Bryan Nappa. “The last couple of years, when we’ve played them, it was do-or-die. There’s not as much pressure now, but our kids are still hungry to get a win.”

The ’Canes dropped to 0-2 in league play last week with a 48-19 loss to Central. The week before, they opened D-II play with a 34-0 loss to Rogers.

The Huskies have played closer games but are 0-2, as well. They lost their opener 22-21 to Woonsocket before falling to Shea 21-0 last week.

“I think both teams are really young,” Nappa said. “The last couple of years, we were fighting for playoff spots. Now it’s just more about going out and executing and seeing where that takes you.”

Even after a second straight blowout loss, Vets is optimistic about its direction. After struggling mightily on both sides of the ball against Rogers, the ’Canes rushed for more than 250 yards against Central and held their own on defense, getting victimized mostly by big plays. And two of Central’s touchdowns were on kickoff returns.

“Even though we got handled by Central, we did a lot of good things,” Nappa said. “We ran the ball very well and we tackled much better. There are just some things we have to clean up.”

The biggest bright spot in the loss to the Knights was running back Mickenzey Pacheco. The senior was a part-time starter last year and was expected to carry a big load this season, but Vets was still waiting for his breakout game. It happened Friday, as Pacheco rushed for 161 yards.

“He ran phenomenally,” Nappa said. “He’s a really fast kid but he just doesn’t have a lot of experience running the ball. We’ve been doing a lot of film study and individual work with him, trying to get him to run lower and keep his feet pumping. It really paid off. He took a giant step forward.”

Quarterback Nick Beaufort also had a good night on the ground, rushing for 77 yards. He struggled through the air for the second straight week, prompting some tweaks ahead of the Mt. Hope game.

“We have to simplify things,” Nappa said. “He throws the ball well, but he’s a young kid and I think his confidence is a little shook right now. We’ve got to build him up.”

On the defensive side of the ball, the ’Canes have had trouble slowing down the Vikings and Knights, but a lot of teams may have similar troubles. Both Rogers and Central figure to be playoff contenders and are led by talented skill players. The Knights are 1-1 but could easily be 2-0, if not for a blocked field goal that led to Coventry’s game-winning touchdown.

Vets will try to clean things up against a team with a little less firepower.

“Basically, our big thing has been blown assignments,” Nappa said. “We tackled better, but we gave up big plays at crucial times. We have to clean that up.”

The Huskies will present plenty of challenges, but like the ’Canes, they’re not the same team they were. They lost 15 seniors from last year, including starting quarterback Kyle Valenzuela and fullback/linebacker Nick Murgo, both of whom terrorized Vets in their crucial match-ups.

“They’ll still do a lot of the same things,” Nappa said. “They went to a pistol, like a lot of teams, and they’ll try to hit the edge on you, a lot of misdirection, jet sweeps. And they like to throw the ball.”

It’ll be a tough match-up, as most will be for Vets this season. But the ’Canes are hopeful.

“So far, we’ve had a really good week of practice,” Nappa said. “We’ve been really focused in film study. Even with two beatings, the kids are not hanging they’re heads. They’re playing together. They want it.”