ST. JAMES — Lutcher coach Dwain Jenkins has a little bit of advice for St. James coach Robert Valdez this week as football fans focus on this week’s rematch of last year’s Class 3A state championship game.

Jenkins, who spent three years as head coach at St. James before hopping back across the river to become the head coach at Lutcher, suggests first year Wildcats coach Valdez keep a low profile.

“Just go to school and go home,” Jenkins said. “Go through the drive-through, don’t go in. Don’t go to the grocery store.”

Jenkins knows everybody in St. James Parish either wants to know who has the best chance to win this Friday night or has an opinion about it.

Valdez is no stranger to big rivalry games, however. He spent seven years at West St. John, which played St. James, Riverside and St. Charles Catholic. Since his return to St. James, his teams have played rivals West St. John, Donaldsonville and E.D. White.

“We’ve played up the river, down the river and back Vacherie,” Valdez said.

“Now we play across the river.”

The surprise is in the fact that the Wildcats have met all those challenges and more. St. James is a surprise 6-0, despite losing star quarterback, LSU commitment Lowell Narcisse — again, before the season even started.

“I am a little surprised,” Valdez said of his team’s record.

“I am majorly impressed with this team. When you lose a player like Lowell Narcisse in a jamboree, it was downtrodden around here. We could have folded up, but we didn’t. We issued a challenge to them and they met that challenge.”

Demarcus Williams has capably led the Wildcats this season just as he did in 2015, passing for more than 1,500 yards.

Since leaving St. James to return to his alma mater, Jenkins has hit a bumpier road. The Bulldogs, who are the defending Class 3A state champions after defeating Jenkins’ St. James in last year’s title game (got all that?), are 5-1 with a only a 36-34 loss to St. Amant. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 2 in the state, ahead of St. James.

“We’ve had our ups and downs,” Jenkins said, including the loss of star quarterback Jontrae Kirklin to a possible concussion that left the team in the hands of sophomore Kolby Bourgeois.

The Bulldogs have posted back-to-back shutouts of Clark (51-0) and KIPP (55-0) following a 56-13 win over McMain. Kirklin threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in that one.

While St. James Parish fans might be salivating for another matchup in the post-season — and maybe even the finals — Valdez and Jenkins know they have to get their teams through this week first, then past De La Salle, which is 6-0 and ranked No. 1 in the state.

“We have to keep improving,” Valdez said. “I know what I want to see out there.”