The Rudder Rangers know there will be some extra emotions involved in Friday's matchup against Navasota at Merrill Green Stadium.

It's the first home game of the season. It's the seniors' last change to get revenge on Navasota. It's the Rangers' first game since the most successful offensive night in school history, a 63-27 victory over Leander Rouse last Friday.

With all that going on, it's up to head coach C.M. Pier to keep his 2-0 team on the level as they attempt to beat a Navasota team that also enters the game undefeated.

"Things are never as good as they seem and they're never as bad as they seem," Pier said. "I've heard some of the people talk about 'revenge' this or that, but that's not what I'm about. We're focused on preparing for district play. Our thing is to get better every week."

If not for Pier's approach, the Rangers could have easily overlooked the first-year program at Rouse. Instead, they scored the most points in school history, had more total yards (543) in school history as well as more first downs (26), most rushing yards (445), most rushes (49), highest completion percentage (62.5) and most yards per carry (9.08).

The defense also set its own records in the game, allowing the lowest rushing total in school history (63 yards) as well as the lowest yards per carry (2.17). It was also the second straight game that Rudder (2-0) has allowed less than 100 yards rushing, a feat they had never accomplished before this season.

Still, the defense did get burned in the first quarter, as Rouse scored 14 points and had 230 total yards before Rudder locked things down and gave up just 100 yards the rest of the way. Pier said the change wasn't so much about the defense adjusting the scheme as it was about controlling their emotions.

"That was the biggest venue they've ever played in," Pier said. "They were looking around, kinda wide-eyed for that first quarter. Everything with us is still coming with these firsts. That was new for them. I tip my hat to Rouse. They had a good game plan, came out and took some shots at us."

Navasota (2-0) should prove a much bigger test for the Rangers. The Rattlers are coming off victories over Madisonville and Class 4A's Willis in which they allowed an average of 220 yards per game. Navasota has also outscored Rudder 99-17 in the two previous matchups while rolling up 408 yards of total offense in 2008 and 406 yards in 2009.

Navasota quarterback Ian Day stepped into some pretty big shoes when he took over for now-Lamar freshman Kye Hildrith, an All-Brazos Valley quarterback in 2009. Day didn't miss a beat, though, rushing for 176 yards and four touchdowns while completing 26 of 37 passes for 421 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions.

The Rattlers also have a pair of running backs in seniors Antoin Burrell and Kesnick Jones who both topped 100 yards against Willis. The two combined for 21 carries for 214 yards last week and should anchor Navasota's ground game.

"Navasota is a good ball club," Pier said. "They've very fast. They're good in all areas and don't have many weaknesses. You look at the film and you can't say, 'That area is weak.' [Day] is definitely a big-time player. He's a lot like [Hildrith]. They've got those two tailbacks who are warriors. They've got two wideouts who are really, really good receivers. They're big men who can run fast."

Defensively, Navasota returns a tough, fast unit that gave Rudder fits in 2009. The Rattlers' secondary will be without starter K.J. Nelms, who suffered a knee injury against Madisonville and hasn't played since. That same secondary, though, has picked off six passes in 36 passing attempts against them this season. Last year, Navasota held Rudder to one of its worst passing days, as the Rangers completed 4 of 13 attempts for 52 yards and an interception.

Navasota will have to contend with a Rudder ground game that is working well in 2010. Through two games, the Rangers have gained 660 rushing yards on 92 carries. In 2008 they gained 805 rushing yards all season.

"This will be a real speed game," Pier said. "We've got to take every inch and celebrate every first down against these guys. Their defensive front is so fast, this is really going to be a challenge. We've got to improve our execution this week and then let the scoreboard speak for itself at the end."