LA GRANDE — The first game of the Pendleton-La Grande rivalry since before the COVID-19 pandemic would have been a draw simply for the fact that it’s the first time the teams have met in league play since they were opponents in the 4A Intermountain Conference in the late 1990s.

That the showdown Friday, Oct. 21, at Round-Up Arena in Pendleton has major district and, likely, state playoff ramifications adds to the intrigue.

The top two teams in Special District 5 — both with matching 3-0 league records — meet this week in a game that likely determines the district title. A win by La Grande clinches the top seed outright, while a Buckaroos’ win would lock up at least a share of the title with one game to play against Baker.

Seeding in the playoffs also will be impacted by the outcome. La Grande enters as the No. 7 team in the OSAA rankings. Right behind it at No. 8 is Pendleton.

Both teams enter on a roll — the Tigers (5-2 overall) have won four straight since a close 32-28 loss at Estacada on Sept. 16, and Pendleton (6-1) is also riding a four-game winning streak since a 49-14 loss to Lewiston, Idaho, also on Sept. 16.

Both teams sport a defense that has been strong in those four contests, with Pendleton allowing just 6 points per game and blanking two opponents — Ridgeview and Crook County. La Grande has allowed just 10.5 points per game in that same timeframe, with a shutout of Molalla along the way.

Pendleton is coming off a 49-12 win at The Dalles that saw it amass 363 yards on the ground, but head coach Erik Davis said that while establishing the run will be key, just as important will be the play of the Buckaroos in the passing game.

“What we need to continue to do is spread the ball around and not let their defense focus on one kid, and that starts under center,” Davis said, alluding to the play of quarterback Jackson Davis, whom he said is completing around 70% of his passes.

“Jack has to throw the ball with efficiency,” Erik Davis added. “We got 4-5 kids that are special (at receiver). We’re not just a running team.”

On the other side of the ball, the Pendleton coach said the success of La Grande — and part of the Bucks’ focus — is right at the top of the Tigers’ roster.

“You can look at their roster and look at the first three numbers you see. Logan (Williams) is a good QB. He is an athlete,” Davis said. “Both (Sam) Tsiatsos and (Jace) Schow are top-end athletes. We gotta be aware of where those kids are. (On defense) Jarett Armstrong is a menace, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He is active on the D-line. We see they are a very well-coached football team. They are full of athletes.”

Like Pendleton, La Grande is coming off a dominant win a week ago, toppling Crook County at home, 42-14.

Turnovers didn’t hurt Pendleton last week in The Dalles. The two turnovers the Buckaroos committed were not taken advantage of by the Riverhawks.

But Davis said come Oct. 21, neither offense is one that the opposing team can give extra opportunities to.

“We gotta win the turnover battle. You give either one of our offenses extra chances. That is tough to overcome.”

Focus will also be important, and is a point Davis has addressed with his team after a slow start a week ago.

“We’ve talked a lot about playoff mentality, and so we really focused on that with our prep on (Oct. 16) watching film and (during practice Oct. 17 and Oct. 18),” he said. “We’ve had great focus this week.”

With all that is on the line this week, the importance of the contest is not lost on Davis.

“We understand this game is monumental. It’s huge,” he said. “There is no other way to put it.”