La Jolla High's Vikings play host to Point Loma at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4, with one of San Diego County's longest-running rivalries on the line.

The Pointers (2-0) carry "The Shoe" into the non-conference game at 750 Nautilus St. after beating the Vikings 37-7 at Bennie Edens Field last season. La Jolla (0-2) will try to reclaim the trophy on its home turf.

The trophy itself carries its own lore. The original bronzed football shoe disappeared while in Viking possession roughly 15 to 20 years ago, according to Times of San Diego. Its replacement: a spray-painted shoe mounted on a small plank of wood.

La Jolla High, founded in 1922, and Point Loma High, founded in 1925, are the second- and third-oldest schools in the San Diego Unified School District. Their football teams have faced off for decades.

Vikings looking for answers

The Vikings dropped their first two games of the season. They fell 35-30 at Patrick Henry on Aug. 21 and 24-17 at Grossmont on Aug. 28, according to MaxPreps.

Both losses came on the road. La Jolla scored 47 points across those two games, so the offense has shown life. The defense allowed 59.

Pointers rolling early

Point Loma opened with a 65-0 rout of Leuzinger High in Lawndale. The Pointers ran just 25 offensive plays and scored on six of them. Quarterback Ryder Watson had two rushing touchdowns, and Blake Lingard and Levi Evering each returned an interception for a score.

The home opener against Otay Ranch was tighter. Lingard returned the opening kickoff 86 yards for a touchdown, giving Point Loma a 7-0 lead 13 seconds into the game.

Watson connected with Aiden Walsh for a second score. Running back Isaiah Standley punched in a fourth-quarter touchdown to seal a 20-7 win.

Point Loma head coach Ryan Price said after the Otay Ranch game that his team still has work to do.

"We had some questionable calls and missed executions all the way around," Price said. "I was telling our guys all week not to take them too lightly … We did enough, but it's not where we want (our game) to be."

What's next

After Friday's rivalry game, La Jolla hosts La Jolla Country Day at 7 p.m. Sept. 11. Point Loma hosts Grossmont the same night, then welcomes Del Norte for homecoming Sept. 18.