If nothing else, Watauga's showdown with Hickory will likely decide who finishes in third place in the new Northwestern 4-A/3-A Conference this fall.
Both teams go into the game with identical 5-4 overall and 2-2 league marks. They both have one game left following their showdown Friday night at Jack Groce Stadium, and both would like to enhance their playoff seeding by winning the final two games of the season.
So when Hickory shows up Friday, chances are Watauga's bitter 28-14 loss to Alexander Central will be in the Pioneers' rearview mirror once they kickoff with Hickory at 7:30 p.m.
"They're a very good football team," Pioneers coach Tim Pruitt said. "I don't think they're the best team in our league. We've both lost to the same two teams (Hibriten and Alexander Central) and all of our scores have been pretty comparable. They're really athletic. Offensively, they run about five running plays and they love to run to their right."
The Pioneers face a Hickory team that will try to establish the run with some talented running backs.
 Shaguan Reid ran for 114 yards in a loss to Newton-Conover, and for 158 yards and three touchdowns in a win over North Lincoln.
Hickory also ran for 247 yards against Hibriten, but turned the ball over six times in a 42-3 loss.  Last week, in a win over Fred T. Foard, the Tornadoes ran for a season-high 366 yards.
Tyler Barnette, a converted linebacker, is the Tornadoes' quarterback, but missed part of the season with a broken collarbone. He has returned to the lineup and has helped the Tornadoes climb over the .500 mark.
"They've got some speed in the backfield," Watauga defensive end Jordan Pineda said. "They run a lot of power and a lot of traps and mainly they rely on the running game."
Watauga's strength defensively all season has been stopping the run. The Pioneers kept Alexander Central's running game in check until the fourth quarter when the Cougars broke back-to-back 32-yard runs to set up a touchdown, which tied the game 14-14.
That score set off a series of events that allowed Alexander Central to add two other touchdowns and claim its victory. The Cougars can clinch the No. 1 4-A seed from the NWC Friday with a win over South Caldwell.
Watauga needs to win its final two games to finish third in the NWC and be considered for a No. 3 seed in the 4-A playoffs in the state's complicated seeding system.
"This game's important because the three seeds conference get priority seeding over everybody else," Pruitt said. "If you don't finish third in your league, you get to fall down into the best overall record and the fact we played teams like Shelby and A.C. Reynolds comes back to haunt us, if that's the case."
To avoid that scenario, the Pioneers will rely on their usual weapons. Quarterback Devan Corum has thrown for 1,136 yards and seven touchdowns with eight interceptions. The senior also has rushed for 522 yards and five touchdowns, giving him 1,658 total yards of offense.
Logan Smith has 482 yards and 10 touchdowns rushing and Baker Stanley has 258 yards and three TDs.
Trey Kavanaugh is the leading receiver going into the game Friday with 25 catches for 359 yards and a touchdown. Travis Oliver is next with 23 catches for 562 yards and five touchdowns. Mo Gore has 12 receptions for 160 yards and a touchdown. Gore also has four interceptions, and averages 36.1 yards per punt.