Linden (7-0, 5-0) travels across the county to take on John Essex (2-5, 1-4) on Friday night.

The Patriots thumped Marengo High last week, and the Hornets were shut out by A.L. Johnson in their first game with interim head coach Brad Daniels.

Linden head coach Andro Williams said his team has to keep preparing like they have all season and continue improving.

“We’re trying to strive to get better as a team,” he said. “There is still a lot we can improve on. We have to continue to prepare for each game and work on what we need to in order to get better.”

He added that they have to continue to improve in all areas on the field as the season is winding down.