Tonight an epic battle occurs on the gridiron. The 6-2 Bearcats take on the 5-3 Centralia Tigers at Bearcat stadium. The team that wins will capture the divisional championships, and play the number two team (likely Olympia or Aberdeen) from the north division of the Rivers League on Tuesday night.

Everyone agrees that the team that has a better strategy and makes the least amount of mistakes will conquer. "We just can't make mistakes like penalties or fumbles," said Tigers coach John Schultz. "Dropped balls, penalties, and broken routes will be a deciding factor in the closeness of the game."

Schultz is aware of the talent running with Chehalis. "The Bearcats have two of the league's premiere [running] backs. We know that, and Chehalis knows that, so it's going to be very important that we stop them," said Schultz.

Offensively, Hoglund thinks that the senior duo of Lann Olson and Leonard Wilson on the ground will be a major advantage. "The chemistry between those two keeps teams off balance; they don't know whether to check the outside or key the inside," said Hoglund.

From a defensive standpoint, the Bearcat's ability to keep the Tigers out of field goal range will be important. The Tigers' quarterback and kicker, Jason Strumm poses a threat for the Bearcats. "The last time we played Centralia, Strumm kicked the winning field goal, [we need] to make sure that they are not within field goal range in a tight game," said Hoglund.

The last time Chehalis and Centralia, played (a Centralia victory in Tiger Stadium on September 19) Strumm passed for over two hundred yards. "...What they [Centralia] have is a quarterback who puts the ball on the money." said Hoglund.

In order to defeat the Tigers, running as well as passing will be essential. "A good balance of passing and running will help us a lot," said senior Kojo Obeng. Hoglund agrees. "We just need to execute in order to win," he said.

Hoglund knows that Olson and Wilson will not win the game alone. "As a team we have to play well," he said. As with every Chehalis-Centralia match-up, the rivalry will come into play.