If there is one game the Siuslaw Vikings circled on their 2015 football schedule, it might be their league opener at 7 p.m. Friday against the South Umpqua Lancers at Hans Petersen Field.

The Lancers pinned a rare loss on the Vikings, 27-21 at Myrtle Creek, last season en route to the quarterfinals of the Oregon School Activities Association's 4A state playoffs.

"They beat us last year for the first time in a long time," Vikings coach Tim Dodson said. "That's a thorn that kind of hurts a little bit."

How rare a loss was it?

"I guess we learned that we were 18 and 0 against them with Coach (Dodson)," Vikings senior lineman Michael Mason said. "We've been thinking about it all year. It was really a bummer to lose. This year it's payback."

That's not exactly what Dodson wants to hear.

"(No) game is a revenge game. That's silly stuff," he said. "We have to go out and play a good football game Friday. They have the momentum, I think, in this series."

The Vikings, 3-0 in preleague play, are ranked No. 10 by the OSAA. The Lancers are 1-2 with losses to No. 4 Phoenix (23-12) and No. 2 Banks (20-7), sandwiched around a 58-6 thumping of North Valley.

South Umpqua posted an 8-3 record in 2014 on its way to the OSAA's 4A state quarterfinals, where the Lancers were pummeled by North Bend, 42-13.

The Lancers rushed for 234 yards on 55 carries last season against the Vikings, with returning senior running back Kyler Merritt accounting for much of that yardage. The South Umpqua offense is directed by 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback-defensive end Nathan Thompson.

"The South Umpqua quarterback is good," Dodson said. "He gets out and runs the ball. He's a physical runner. Their running back, Merritt, ran for a lot of yards on us last year."

Siuslaw had a slight statistical edge on South Umpqua in the 2014 game, with an 18-17 edge in first downs and a 332-301 advantage in total yards gained. The Vikings also won the turnover battle, 2-1.

"We didn't play to our potential last year," Mason said. "What we saw on film, we just shot ourselves in the foot on offense. We'll stick it to 'em this time."

South Umpqua is ranked No. 20 by the OSAA among 4A's 40 schools, of which 24 advance to the playoffs. The Lancers' 40-man varsity roster is nearly twice that of Siuslaw's.

"I know South Umpqua is a great team, and it will be fun to match up against them," Vikings quarterback Preston Mitchell said. "We definitely don't want to lose to them two years in a row.

"Either way, it's going to be a great game."

NOTES: Siuslaw is ranked No. 9 by the OregonLive media poll conducted by the Oregonian newspaper. John Gunther, sports editor of the Coos Bay World, votes in that poll. Marshfield is ranked No. 3 in the media poll, No. 7 by the OSAA. Siuslaw hosts Marshfield at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9. ... Senior running back-linebacker-kicker Kenneth Thrall has scored 11 points in each of the first three games, including a touchdown in each game, and he is 10-for-10 in extra-point kicks. ... He also has a 25-yard field goal and a two-point conversion pass this season. ... Thrall's career-long 62-yard punt Friday against Hidden Valley on the Mustangs' home turf was the fourth-longest punt in school history. Jeff McClellan (1978) and J.C. Fisher (1986) hold the record of 64 yards, while Brent Daniel had a 63-yarder in 1993. ... Mitchell scored two of the Vikings' three touchdowns in the 2014 game with South Umpqua, on a 13-yard TD pass from Joe Dotson with 36 seconds left in the first half and on an 8-yard run with 3:34 left in the game. ... A win Friday will give Dodson 150 in his 20 seasons as the Vikings' head coach. He is 149-55 with a state title (2006) and five Far West League titles in his career. ... Siuslaw's frosh-soph team will play South Umpqua at Myrtle Creek on Thursday. The young Vikings are 0-2.