Unbeaten, ninth-ranked Northville faces another major test Friday when 4-1 Dearborn Fordson visits for a KLAA matchup.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Northville High School.

The Mustangs (5-0, 4-0 KLAA Black) are the only KLAA team in the Associated Press Division 1 top 10, entering the week at No. 9. They have outscored opponents 184-93 this season, according to MaxPreps.

Northville's season has followed a clear arc. The Mustangs survived a double-overtime win over Lake Orion, a 10-7 grind at Canton and a 35-34 nail-biter against Brighton in the first three weeks. The last two games were different: 52-7 over Novi and 49-14 at Plymouth.

Senior running back Danny O'Neil has been the engine. Against Plymouth on Sept. 25, he rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns on just seven carries and added 42 receiving yards and another score. That was his third straight game with at least two rushing touchdowns.

Through five games, O'Neil ranks 14th in Michigan with 10 total touchdowns, per MaxPreps statewide statistical leaders. Quarterback Braylon Brown threw for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the Plymouth win. The Mustangs piled up 306 rushing yards in that game.

Fordson (4-1, 1-1 in KLAA play) brings its own ground threat. Senior running back Dean Hammoud has racked up 496 rushing yards through five games, ranking 24th statewide, according to MaxPreps. The Tractors' first three wins each came by one score before they pulled away from Salem 38-13 in Week 5.

Fordson's lone loss came at Belleville, 26-21, on Sept. 11. That result looms large. Belleville (3-2, 1-0 KLAA Black) hosts Novi on Friday, and if both the Tigers and Mustangs win this week, Northville travels to Belleville on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. for a game that could decide the KLAA Black title, as The Oakland Press noted in its weekly football notebook.

The stakes are high.

Detroit Free Press writer Jared Ramsey predicted a Northville win, 28-24, writing that "whichever defense can control the line of scrimmage will put their team in position for a crucial KLAA win."

Northville's next game after Friday is at Belleville on Oct. 9.