For the past eight years, the two coaches worked side by side at Berry College.
 
                On Saturday, however, Vikings head coach Tony Kunczewski and Rhodes head coach Rich Duncan will be lined up across from each other on opposite sidelines when the two friends lead their respective team into a Southern Athletic Association showdown when Berry squares off against the Lynx for a 2 p.m. clash in Memphis, Tenn.
 
                "It feels strange," Kunczewski said about playing against Duncan, who was the Berry head coach's first hire when the Vikings started football in 2013. "Rich is a great friend of mine.
 
"We've seen that offense for nine years," Kunczewski added, "but at the same time he's seen our defense for nine years."
 
                Both teams enter the game coming off a loss last week, with Berry (5-3 overall, 3-2 SAA) falling to conference leader Birmingham-Southern 21-3 and Rhodes (3-5, 2-3) losing to Centre 49-5.
 
                And although the setback to BSC ended Berry's hopes of defending the SAA title they have won for the past five seasons, Kunczewski knows that Duncan will have his team prepared to prove its worth against the Vikings.
 
                The Lynx, who average more than 300 yards a game, are led by quarterback Luke Macias, who has thrown for 1,445 yards and 14 touchdowns – he's been picked off six times – while running back James Moskosky is the team's top rusher having gained 494 yards on the ground.
 
                Defensively, however, Rhodes has yielded an average of 371 yards a game, and last week gave up 489 yards to Centre, 349 of that coming via the pass.
 
                Cornerback Evan Byrd and safety Conner Mitchell head up the defense with 39 total tackles each, and linebacker Joe Conroy has added 38 tackles and tops the Lynx with five sacks.
 
                 "They'll be physical on both sides off the ball," Kunczewski said of Rhodes. "Rich has transformed the culture of the program."
 
                The Vikings head to Tennessee averaging 346 yards an outing with a balanced attack – 190 rushing and 156 passing per game – and despite not being able to upend Birmingham-Southern, Kunczewski liked the way his team played against a foe that will play for the conference championship this week against the other SAA unbeaten, Trinity.
 
                "I thought our effort was really good, and I was proud of that," said Kunczewski, who points out that Berry's three losses came against three nationally-ranked teams that head into the weekend with a combined 24-0 record. "They were a veteran team and I think that proved to be the difference.
 
                "We moved the ball well and we held a team whose offense was averaging 40 points a game to 14," he said.
 
                Against Rhodes, the Vikings will be looking to continue a balanced offense that averages 190 rushing yards and 156 passing yards a game, and averages 346 total yards.
 
                Freshmen Josh Rogers (540 yards and eight TDs) and Brandon Cade (454 yards and six TDs) led Berry's ground game, while junior quarterback Gavin Gray has now passed for 1,091 yards and six touchdowns this season.
 
                Defensively last week, Elohim Hull led the Vikings defense with 7.5 total tackles and Jack Seeger added seven tackles and 2.5 sacks. All told, Berry totaled season-high five sacks.
 
                Last time that Berry has played a game that didn't have any playoff implications was 2014.

                "It's been different for us this year," Kunczewski said, noting that the last time the Vikings played a game that didn't have playoff implications came in 2014. "Now we're playing for each other."