Wellsville High football coach Bill Oshel doesn’t put much stock in rivalry games – especially when they come as early as Week 3 of the regular season.

“I think a lot of people place a lot more importance on it than maybe I do,” Oshel said. “I definitely look at it as a coach that it’s another game for us.

“It will be an opportunity for us to gauge ourselves against a fine team.”

That team – or rival, should you choose to disagree with Oshel – would be Baldwin, which comes calling tonight in a battle of familiar foes looking to gain some early footing in the Frontier League race. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Wellsville.

The Eagles (1-1) will be looking to make it two straight triumphs on their home turf, having knocked off Anderson County, 28-14, last week on the strength of a 200-yard, two-touchdown performance by running back Austin Bloss.

Oshel likes the growth he saw in his squad between a season-opening loss at Eudora and last week’s victory, but is more steadfast in his belief that there must be much more of it for Wellsville to experience success both tonight and throughout the rest of the 2005 season.

“They’re not even close to being at their full potential,” Oshel said. “We have lots of room for growth, we really do. We’ve got some things in place if we just get them performing.”

The Bulldogs (1-1) will be looking to stall that progress and get back on a winning track after last week’s 26-19 loss on their home turf to Paola.

While disappointed with the final result, Baldwin coach Mike Berg came away with a positive character assessment of his team following the setback.

“I think our squad showed us a lot of heart,” Berg said. “We knew Paola was going to be big and physical, and our kids were up for the challenge. They played them tough to the very end.”

That doesn’t mean Berg doesn’t have a list of things he wants to see his team work on tonight. The biggest item: finding a way to stop Bloss or whomever else might be carrying the ball while wearing a Wellsville jersey.

“We need to tackle,” Berg said. “There were times last Friday that we had them wrapped up and couldn’t hang on to them. I think we need to improve in that area to be successful.”