The toughest test of the season is coming up Friday night for the Lenoir City Panthers (2-7, 1-5) when they host District 4(3A) rival Maryville.

Unlike most years, the Rebels (8-1, 6-0) enters the final game of the regular season without an unblemished mark.  The Rebels lost a regular season game for the first time in eight years when they dropped their first game of the year to Alcoa 41-24.

Since that contest, however, the Rebels have gone 8-0 with a total score of 274-89 and have had just three games finish within one score.  They've beaten West 38-17, McMinn County 49-6, Heritage 35-0, Oak Ridge 21-13, Bearden 38-0, Catholic 28-21, Farragut 35-32 and William Blount 30-0.
Philip Juhlin has led the way for the Rebels, completing 72 percent of his passes for 10.3 yards per completion.  He's thrown 16 touchdowns to just one interception this year.

His favorite receiver has been Desmund Horne, who has caught 26 passes for 449 yards.  Stian Romberg has also caught 26 passes for 316 yards.
The two receivers have combined for 12 touchdowns this year.

The running game has been spearheaded by Buddy Jones, who has rushed 91 times for 583 yards and four touchdowns.
The Panthers are enjoying one of their better seasons since 2005.  They've won twice this year, the first time winning multiple games since winning four in the 2005 season.

The Panthers have gone 0-4 against Maryville in the past four years by a combined score of 153-33.
Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday night at Cecil Thomas Field in Lenoir City.