It’s that time of year again.

High school football fans are growing accustomed to it. When the calendar turns to December, one can only assume that the Bishop Hendricken football team will be playing for a state title.

And this season is no different, with the undefeated Hawks getting set to take on rival La Salle on Saturday at noon at Cranston Stadium.

The Hawks are looking to capture an unprecedented sixth consecutive title, while the Rams will be looking to break the current trend, as La Salle has lost to Hendricken in the finals three times over the last five years.

On paper, it would look as if Hendricken is coming in as the heavy favorite as the top seed after handing the Rams a 53-23 drubbing on Nov. 6 on a somber Rams’ senior night.

In that game, Jake Derderian and Kwity Paye each rushed for a pair of touchdowns, while quarterback Chris Hindle fired two touchdown passes to senior receiver Billy Mueller.

But Hendricken head coach Keith Croft would say not so fast. He believes that the two teams are much closer in talent than the aforementioned score would indicate. He and the Hawks are expecting to see a different La Salle team on Saturday.

“We just had some things bounce our way,” Croft said of the first matchup. “We played well and they probably weren’t at their best. You have two evenly-matched teams. We’re expecting a battle back and forth. Whichever team can slow down the other team’s offense the best is going to win this game.”

However, Croft and the Hawks can take something away from that first meeting. The Hawks forced La Salle to turn over the ball six times in that game, which certainly played a role in the lopsided outcome.

“The one thing that I’m taking away from that first game that I’m trying to impart on these kids is, defensively, we have to force turnovers,” Croft said. “That was a big part of that game that was kind of overlooked. Yes, our offense played well, but the turnovers that we forced and the position that they put us in is really what changed the flow of that game.”

Although the Hawks’ defense got the better of La Salle’s offense in round one, the Rams aren’t lacking offensive weapons.

The most prominent player for La Salle, offensively, is senior receiver C.J. Waite.

Waite scored an 8-yard touchdown in the regular season against the Hawks and broke a couple of big plays but, for the most part, Hendricken was able to keep him in check.

Because of his immense speed and how La Salle uses him in many different ways, Waite is a tough player to gameplan for.

“He’s the most explosive player in the state, so you can’t miss tackles on him, you have to have multiple guys gang-tackling him,” Croft said. “He’s a challenge. He’s not easy to prepare for because they do a lot of different things with him and he’s in a lot of different formations. You know he’s going to get 20 to 30 touches, he’s all over the place.”

La Salle’s offense doesn’t just have speed with Waite and quarterback Jace Pena, it has an element of toughness to it too, with a physical running back in Kyron Lopes.

“It’s tough,” Croft said of preparing for La Salle’s multifaceted offense. “You can’t put all of your eggs in one basket. They’re a big-play offense. You have [Lopes] who can break 20-, 30-, 40-yard runs, C.J. can obviously take it the length of the field and [Pena] has gone a bit under the radar the last couple of years. [Pena] is a three-year starter and I like him on the field. He does a lot of good things and he’s just a really good athlete – runs well, throws well.”

However, the only defense that has been able to slow down La Salle’s offense has been Hendricken’s.

As usual, the Hawks will look to junior Kwity Paye and seniors Shane Olson and Jimmie Sauro to pressure Pena and stuff the run up front.

In the secondary, Andrew Hopgood leads the Hawks with four interceptions, including two against Pena on Nov. 6, while Anthony Witherstone is close behind with three picks.

Offensively, the Hawks picked apart La Salle’s defense during the regular season.

Junior quarterback Chris Hindle will look to carry his success into his first Super Bowl appearance. Hindle has thrown for 15 touchdowns in comparison to just four interceptions, while rushing for four scores on the season, as well.

“It’s high,” Croft said of his confidence level in Hindle. “We don’t ask anyone on our team to go out and win the game for us, it’s a team effort. I think he has to be a leader out there on the field and control the huddle. We’re going to ask him to make throws and make the right reads, but we’re a firm believer that, at this time of year, you have to be able to run the football, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”

Hindle has a number of running backs behind him that have had standout seasons thanks in large part to the tremendous play of the offensive line. Those backs will help to alleviate the pressure.

Derderian has a team-high 10 rushing touchdowns on the season, while Paye has compiled eight and Matt DiTondo has added five.

When Hindle does drop back to throw, he’ll have several quality targets to choose from. Senior Trevor Lawton leads the Hawks with 15 receptions, 307 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He had a breakout game at this time of year last winter and look for him to play a pivotal role on Saturday. Dante Baldelli has also reeled in four touchdown passes, while Mueller has caught three, two against the Rams.

Whichever team’s defense shows up will win the game, as each team should be able to put up points.

If La Salle plays up to its potential, fans should see a much more competitive game than the most recent matchup.

No matter the score, Hendricken will take a win however it can get it to cement its team in the record book as part of the Hawks’ current streak.

There isn’t any talk of a sixth straight championship, however. Although the streak speaks great volumes for the program as a whole, this is a new group of players with their own unique opportunity.

“No,” Croft promptly answered when asked if there was any talk around his team of a sixth straight title. “Everyone talks about that, but every season is so different and unique. To think we’d be in this position when we started this season, undefeated, no, never. Just to get to a Super Bowl is such a great accomplishment, and winning one is so overwhelming. History will judge us, but the most important thing for these kids is winning Saturday, not what happened two, three, four years ago.”