Two trophies and an outright conference championship are up for grabs when Champlin Park meets Anoka at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Goodrich Field.
Tornadoes football coach Jeff Buerkle said the former actually holds more value to him than the latter.
Anoka is 0-8 in games played for The Paddle, a traveling trophy signifying the Mississippi River that runs between the rival communities. And Anoka's last regular-season home game means the Pumpkin Bowl trophy is on the line for the 64th time.
An undefeated record in the Northwest Suburban Conference and the championship? It's too subjective.
"The way it's set up, it's not as meaningful as it used to be," said Buerkle, whose team played Wayzata in a nonconference game but did not face Osseo. "We didn't play everybody."
Buerkle's focus is on the Class 5A, Section 7 playoffs. A victory assures Anoka (6-1, 6-0 NWSC) the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye. The Tornadoes last beat Champlin Park (4-3) in the 2006 Class 5A, Section 7 championship game.
Wednesday's game features two teams with something new to offer. Rebels coach Mike Korton watched Anoka on film Sunday evening and took note of the Tornadoes offense. Though still running the old Wing-T, the Tornadoes are mixing in passes from quarterback Cole Boughner to great effect.
"They are not as predictable," Korton said. "The way they've been throwing the football makes you play things a little differently. They don't just run where you expect them to run."