Gwynn Park coach Mike Glick wasted little time turning his attention to tonight's upcoming battle with conference rival Friendly High School.

Immediately after Friday night's last-second victory over Largo, Glick began discussing tonight's battle for first place in the County 3A/2A/1A League.

"This was just one game and it gives us the opportunity to play for first place," he said. "Now we get to play Friendly and it's going to be a battle."

Tonight's game at Gwynn Park could go a long way in determining the winner of the league.

Gwynn Park (9-3, 8-0) enters the game winners of 28 straight league games with its last loss coming in February of 2007, but the recent games have been close. The Yellow Jackets have won four of their last five games by a combined nine points. The only easy game was a 26-point victory against Central.

Glick said those types of games will have the Yellow Jackets ready for the tournament and tonight's game.

"Our kids have been very resilient all year," he said. "We have given up leads and made comebacks. That just shows the type of resilience that these kids have."

Friendly (10-1, 9-0) comes in winners of its last five games. The Patriots haven't lost a game since Dec. 30, but have also played in some close contests. Friendly has won its last four games by a combined total of 22 points.

Friendly coach Robert Garner said his team is trying to get on the level Gwynn Park has been the past few seasons.

"To get to the point where they have been, you have to beat teams like Gwynn Park," he said. "We still have a lot to improve upon and we need to play better if we are going to beat a team like Gwynn Park."

Although Garner stresses the importance of this game, he also wants his players to understand the season doesn't end with tonight's game. Win or lose, the Patriots have to be ready to continue with their difficult schedule, which includes a game Friday night against Forestville.

"We aren't going to win it all with just one game," he said. "We know what to expect and I am sure they know what to expect from us. We have to play a perfect 32 minutes to win this game."

E-mail Joshua Hudson at jhudson@gazette.net