Chapel Hill and Kilgore met last year in the playoffs at Lobo Stadium in Longview on Dec. 1, 2023. The two sets of Bulldogs will play again on Friday, but this time in Forney. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

NEW CHAPEL HILL — No matter the path, the road leads to the same place — a battle of the Bulldogs in the playoffs.

For the fourth straight year, Chapel Hill and Kilgore will meet in the postseason — third consecutive year in the Class 4A Division I Region III football final.

The eighth meeting in four seasons between the teams will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Forney’s City Bank Stadium.

In the 2021 regular season meeting, Kilgore won 41-20. Chapel Hill responded with a 41-35 win in two overtimes in the third round of the playoffs on the way to reaching the state semifinals for the first time since 2011.

In 2022, Chapel Hill won the regular season meeting 32-20 and then was also victorious in the regional final with a 24-21 decision on the way to another state semifinal appearance.

Kilgore took a 39-13 win over Chapel Hill in the 2023 regular season. Chapel Hill bounced back with a 21-19 win over Kilgore in the regional final and eventually advancing to the Class 4A Division I championship game.

Kilgore (11-2) came away with a 42-7 victory on Oct. 11 in this year’s meeting between the two programs.

“We’ve been waiting the whole year to get this rematch,” senior Jonah Riordan said. “We’ve been waiting for another opportunity because we know we’re going to make the most of it. We know we’re going to have most of our dudes back now, so it should be a good game. We’re going to come out there with all of our bullets flying as hard as we can.”

“I’ve been looking for this rematch ever since we lost to them in district,” senior Rickey Stewart said. “We’ve just got to go out there and play hard all four quarters.”

Like a lot of this season, Chapel Hill was shorthanded in the game. The Bulldogs (10-3) were without quarterback Demetrius Brisbon, who signed with Baylor on Wednesday, for the second of six straight games. Brisbon has been back the past two weeks but hasn’t started at quarterback, though he did throw a touchdown pass in his only attempt in last week’s 28-7 win over Stafford, and he has played receiver the past two games. Stewart, who has run for 1,617 yards this season and signed with Texas on Wednesday, had just 10 carries against Kilgore in the regular season. Stewart missed the last game of the regular season after suffering an injury against Pine Tree, but he came back with 331 yards on 23 carries in the playoff opener against Huffman-Hargrave. Chapel Hill was without other players in the first meeting against Kilgore, as well, and has had moving parts for most of the season.

“There have been a lot of games this year where we haven’t had all of our guys,” senior Keldrick Davis said. “We’ve went through a lot of adversity this year.”

“The adversity has been an asset really,” Chapel Hill head football coach Jeff Riordan said. “Malik Gee has become a different player and a great quarterback with all of these extra reps, starting some playoff games and winning some big-time games, including three playoff games in a row. Defensive line wise, we had a lot of guys step up because of all of those injuries. The O-line is now fully intact and healthy except Derek Tovar; he broke his ankle against Huffman, so we’re missing him, but they’re getting better every week and guys are stepping up. We’ve had to play a lot of kids this year.

“It’s been an asset. It’s made some guys step up and get some very valuable experience that’s helped us in this playoff run. We are just thankful to still be playing in the fourth round. A lot of people didn’t think we would be here with the adversity we went through and the struggles we had throughout the season, but these kids just came to practice and came to work every day and got better. They’re resilient, fighters and winners. It’s a good group. I love the guys we’ve got in that locker room, and I love the coaches we’ve got on this staff. And I think that’s why we always still play because it’s kind of a family deal. We love coming to practice and being around each other, so we don’t want it to end. It gives us a little bit more of an edge in trying to keep the family together.”

On the other side will be a Kilgore team that has won seven straight games and that lost two games by a total of five points to Gilmer and Henderson.

“To get past them, we’re going to have to give them our best shot,” Coach Riordan said. “It’s going to have to be our best game all year. We’re going to have to be solid in all three phases of the game, protect the football, make plays and execute. The district game, we were down seven guys, but we shot ourselves in the foot all night with penalties, turnovers and big plays. We’ve got to eliminate that type of stuff, because they’re a very good football team.

“It’s Kilgore, they’re good every year. They’re a tradition-rich program. Coach (Clint) Fuller and his staff do an unbelievable job. They’ve got a kid (Jayden Sanders) going to Michigan. It seems like every year they have a dude, and this year is no different. They’ve got dudes everywhere. And defensively, them and Carthage are probably the best two defenses I’ve coached against in my coaching career. They are fast, and they are physical. They make the field look really small to a play caller. It’s tough to execute.”

The winner of Friday’s Class 4A Division I Region III final will advance to the Class 4A Division I semifinals to face either La Vernia (10-3) or Bay City (12-1).