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NAPLES — You can never look past an opponent, even if it’s a 1-3 team in a lower classification. Barron Collier learned that last season.

Class 3A Bartow came to Barron Collier in Week 4 last year as the 5A Cougars were celebrating homecoming and the christening of their new $900,000 turf field. The 2-2 Yellow Jackets were supposed to be sacrificial lambs for the undefeated Cougars.

Barron Collier, it turned out, was the one that got slaughtered, losing 32-3.

Now the Cougars make the three-hour trip to Polk County to face Bartow (1-3), very careful not to underestimate the Yellow Jackets.

“Last year, no matter what we said, the kids had it all figured out,” Barron coach Mark Ivey said. “It’s hard to convince a 16-year-old that a 1-3 team is a good football team. This year we’re going up there knowing (Bartow) is a talented football team.”

The Cougars (2-1) expect to see a big, physical team when they arrive in Bartow. The Yellow Jackets, who like to run the football, boast five offensive linemen 6-foot-3 or taller.

Last season Bartow ran for 323 yards on Barron Collier, and Ivey expects the Yellow Jackets to try for similar results tonight.

Bartow High School, with three state football titles, traces its roots back to the late 1800s. The concrete stadium lined with old oak trees has a historical feel to it, and Ivey expects an old-fashioned, smashmouth football game.

“This is old Florida, it’s old-school football,” Ivey said. “We’re excited to go up there.”

To beat Barron again, Bartow will have to stop senior running back Quin Thornton. In two games this season Thornton has rolled up 394 yards of offense and nine touchdowns.

The Yellow Jackets held Barron to less than 3 yards a carry last season. The one Cougar to have success was Thornton, who gained 73 yards on 14 carries.

After being suspended for the first game of the season against Lely — the Cougars’ only loss — Thornton has guided Barron Collier to back-to-back victories. The team has scored 117 points in that span while allowing just 12 in wins over Golden Gate and Palmetto Ridge.

While Ivey said he’s looking forward to today’s trip, his players will have to avoid being sluggish after a 132-mile bus trip.

“A real competitor doesn’t care if it’s a pick-up basketball game in Alaska — they want to win,” Ivey said. “A real competitor could be playing cards with his mother-in-law and want to win that competition.

“We’ve challenged our kids to be real competitors, to stay aggressive throughout the entire competition.”