THURSDAY

Jefferson (0-6, 0-2) vs. Lanier (1-4, 1-0) at SAISD Sports Complex, 7 p.m.

These teams have split their last four meetings, which somehow seems appropriate because either team seems capable of winning this 34^th renewal of a series that began in 1972.

Lanier has to rate as the favorite, after breaking through to the win column last Friday against Highlands (21-8). A couple of important developments helped the Voks snare their first 2013 win: 1) The defense, which had struggled in Lanier’s non-district games limited Highlands to 181 total yards. 2) Joe Orta emerged as a ballcarrier, rushing for 94 yards.

The Voks defense caught a break because Owls quarterback Jordan DeLuna didn’t play, but the yardage allowed still was impressive and the confidence boost will carry over to Friday’s game. Lanier didn’t allow Highlands to establish a passing threat. Almost all of the Owls yardage came on the ground, yet they only averaged a still-managable 6.0 yards per carry.

Offensively, Lanier has improved as quarterback Nicholas Garcia has gained experience. Orta’s development means that teams can no longer key on Stephen Veliz. With a solid ground game, senior Rodrigo Garcia caught seven passes for a season-best 140 yards.

Jefferson also has been improving recently as it gears up, potentially, for its first win of the season.

A confident Burbank team defeated the Mustangs 40-33 last Friday, holding off a furious comeback by Jefferson. The Mustangs scored 27 of the last 42 points in the game.

Senior quarterback Brian Febus passed for 124 yards in his first significant playing time of the season. Receiver D’Andre Melton caught five passes for 141 yards in his best game this year. Those performances, coupled with 96 rushing yards from sophomore Jesse Flores (which increased his season total to 676), gave the Mustangs more balance than they’d shown in previous games.

Jefferson’s defense still is allowing more than 40 points a game this year. If it’s offense is cooking, it might not need to keep the Voks too far under that number to come up with a victory.

Four of the last five Jefferson-Lanier games have been decided by 10 points or fewer. The Mustangs lead the series 25-8. 2012 score: Jefferson 31, Lanier 21.