Not much, really.
Only a chance to win a region championship, set a school record for wins in a season, and secure homefield advantage for at least the first three rounds of the state playoffs.
OK, so maybe it is a big game, one of the most important football games a Callaway team has ever played in fact.
So, how will the Cavs respond?
Will they continue to play free and easy, or will the situation cause their collars to tighten up a bit?
A case of the butterflies is to be expected, but don’t look for this Callaway team to play any differently tonight, just because the stakes are so much higher.
This is a group of young men who take the game seriously and have a passion for success, but they also have fun, and that joy is evident when you watch them on a Friday night.
The Cavs are also talented. Boy, are they talented.
They have an absurd amount of offensive weapons, including two game-breaking tailbacks in Quan Bray and Bernard Phillips, and a tank of a fullback in Tharius Tigner.
Throw in a quarterback in Demetrius Heard who is a threat with his legs and his arm and a dynamic receiver in Quantavious Leslie, and it’s no wonder the Cavs are giving scoreboard operators a workout.
The defense has more than held up its end as well.
The Cavs are fast and physical on defense, and they’ve made life miserable for opposing offenses.
And if it comes down to a kick, the Cavaliers will be in business with Josh Ham, whose aim has been spot-on all season.
And let’s not overlook a coaching staff – led by Pete Wiggins – that has done a fantastic job of wringing every ounce of potential out of the players.
Let’s not forget, though, that the team the Cavaliers are playing hasn’t lost a game.
It’s been a magical season for the Pike County Pirates, who have been winning close games all season.
Twice they’ve won games by a single point.
The Pirates haven’t blown teams out like the Cavaliers have, but football is a bottomline business.
The only stat that matters is who wins and who loses.
And no team in the region has won more than than Pike County.
The Pirates will also have the homefield edge tonight, and you know the small town of Zebulon will be on fire for this ballgame.
It’s hard not to pick against the Cavs, though.
They’ve been beating teams mercilessly all season, and even the Pike coach admitted Callaway will have to make some mistakes for his team to have a chance tonight.
If the Cavaliers continue to play like they have, they’ll return to Troup County tonight with a region championship in hand.
MY PICK - CALLAWAY 31, PIKE 20
LAGRANGE VS. TROUP: Both teams are locked into their playoff positions, so this game doesn’t mean a whole lot, right?
Wrong!
The records are secondary when these two teams meet.
No game in the regular season comes close to matching the level of intensity found when the Grangers and Tigers lock horns.
Last year’s game, which LaGrange won 24-20, was remarkable.
Both teams took turns snatching the momentum back from the other, and the game wasn’t decided until Brian Dowell had a game-clinching interception in the end zone with moments remaining.
And as if the game needed any more fuel for the fire, Troup had to have a victory to keep its playoff hopes alive.
It was a special night.
Will we see a repeat tonight? Will the Grangers and Tigers give a standing-room only crowd at Callaway Stadium another virtuoso performance?
It could, and very likely will, happen.
Troup’s 4-5 record isn’t impressive, but the Tigers have played a daunting schedule, and with the exception of the Carver game, they’ve been in every game.
The Tigers are a play here or there away from being 8-1.
Troup’s defense can dominate any team, and an offense that has struggled will be in much better shape with the return of quarterback Jaquante Holloway, who missed much of the season with an injury.
As for the Grangers, they boast a 7-2 record, but they’re coming off a 24-0 loss to Carver that knocked them out of the region-championship picture.
The loss stung, but having a team like Troup to prepare for probably helped get the players’ minds back on track.
LaGrange has a stingy, senior-laden defense, and an offense that has plenty of play-makers, despite the loss of quarterback Jamius Gunsby, who has missed the past four games because of a disclipinary issue at school.
Both teams have reason to believe that – around 10 p.m. or so – they’ll be celebrating a win against their biggest rival.
Hopefully the Grangers and Tigers will give us another classic.
This is a tough one to pick, but give LaGrange the slight edge because of the success its veterans have had in this series over the years.
My pick – LaGrange 14-10
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