It would be overhyping to label No. 15 Smithfield (3-0) vs. No. 8 Lafayette (3-0) at Wanner Stadium on Friday as a much-anticipated showdown. As their rankings suggest, the Rams are the favorite and the Packers are looking at the game as a measuring stick for their surprising progress this season.
Both entering unbeaten conjures memories when it was annually one of the biggest games on the Bay Rivers District schedule. The Packers beat the Rams five times in an eight-season span from 2005-12 — a success few can claim against Lafayette since 1997 — and the games were almost always competitive until Smithfield’s program took a down turn seven years ago.
Rams’ coach Andy Linn is impressed with a Smithfield team that has opened with wins over Norview, Churchland and Jamestown by a combined 69-13…