File photo – The Crusaders will play at East Nicolaus on Friday night.

By Ray Hamill — St. Bernard’s will face off against East Nicolaus on Friday night in a rematch of the 2019 state football semifinal.

The road game was added on Thursday afternoon after Ferndale was forced to cancel Saturday’s scheduled game against St. Bernard’s because of COVID protocols.

“In this COVID era and wild fire era, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to,” St. Bernard’s head coach Matt Tomlin said on Thursday afternoon. “I’m breaking down game film right now, we practice tonight and we’ll be playing tomorrow night.”

After a five-hour drive.

St. Bernard’s defeated the Spartans in the big state semifinal two years ago, winning 45-29 on the way to the school’s second state championship in five years.

And Tomlin is expecting a battle once again on Friday.

“They look very similar to 2019,” he said. “They’re very well coached and they’re disciplined.”

East Nicolaus comes into the showdown with a record of 0-1 after dropping a close matchup, 14-12, to Bradshaw Christian.

The Crusaders, who are coming off a bye last week, are 1-1, with a 21-10 loss at St. Vincent de Paul on opening weekend and a comprehensive 47-12 victory over Arcata two weeks ago.

A number of players have impressed early for the Crusaders, including junior quarterback Drew Sisemore, who has 348 yards passing and 290 rushing through the two games, as well as five total touchdowns.

As you might expect from a St. Bernard’s team, five different receivers already have multiple receptions, including Demarte Prudhomme, Peyton Smith, Demetrius Rawson, Grant Omey and Brayden Luna.

Wyatt Simoni also has been a force on offense, both on the line and in the backfield, where he leads the running backs in limited action with 95 yards and four touchdowns on 13 carries.

Prudhomme and Omey have also run the ball well.