It’s a rare Friday tripleheader football event as the Lake Region Conference will take centerstage at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

The LRC Showdown is back after a two-year absence and will feature some intriguing matchups.

Action gets underway with Ipswich taking on North Central at 1 p.m., followed by Northwestern against Leola-Frederick at 4 p.m. The showdown concludes with Warner facing Faulkton at 7 p.m.

“It’s a really cool thing that the conference is doing,” said Warner coach Derek Hoellein. “It should be a fun day of football.”

Warner and Faulkton have done battle at Dacotah Bank Stadium before, most recently in the last LRC Showdown that resulted in an epic battle.

“That was actually in ’23. That’s the year we won it and they got runner-up that year. Two real good football teams,” Hoellein said. “We jumped out on them early, and then it started raining in the second quarter. The game came down to a touchdown with 30-some seconds to go. It was a classic. Great game.”

The two LRC powers had a memorable game last year that Warner once again pulled out in the closing seconds, thanks to a late 80-yard pass that set up the winning touchdown.

“It seems like all of these Faulkton games the last 5-6 years have come down right to the last couple of minutes,” Hoellein said.

While things have changed a bit this year, Hoellein expects the same kind of game. Both teams switched classes this season.

“It’s kind of different. They’re 9A this year, we’re 9B, which is kind of funny that we switched roles there,” Hoellein said. “I expect the same intensity, same atmopshere, two good teams, obviously different divisions, but two good teams matching up.”

And as Hoellein pointed out, both in about the same position.

“We’re kind of both in somewhat similar situations, with losing a quarterback and running back,” Hoellein said. “We’ve got a lot of starters coming back on both sides. I think it’s going to be a good one.”

It’s already been a memorable season for Warner just two games into the campaign thanks to Alec Mikkelsen, who has made three field goals, including a 50-yarder this past weekend, believed to be a 9-man state record.

“Man, what a weapon he is. … Not only kicking, but punting. He put one inside the 10. … He’s one of the those kids that can flip the field and give you an advantage in special teams,” Hoellein said.

The Lake Region Conference has long been a premier league when it comes to football in the area. Hoellein cited multiple reasons for that.

“Obviously, a lot of credit to the kids and past kids that have been through the conference, but the coaches,” Hoellein said. “You talk about the coaching staffs in our conference; some times you can have the Mo’s, the Joe’s, but you’ve got to put them in the right spots to be successful. Obviously, a lot of good players come through the conference and if you look around, there’s a lot of good coaches in the conference as well.”

The LRC Showdown is back for at least two years. The same matchups will also take place next year at Dacotah Bank Stadium.

“Any time that we can showcase the case kids in our conference, I think we’ve got to take advantage of that any time that we can,” Hoellein said.

While the Monarchs play their home games on artificial turf, Hoellein said his players are still excited about playing on the NSU turf, and being involved in the atmosphere surrounding the top football facility in the region.

“I’m sure kids are hyped up. We try to take one week at a time. We haven’t talked about it a whole lot, yet,” Hoellein said. “I’m sure the kids will be excited. … There’s going to be some juices flowing, I guarantee it.”