HERMISTON – The lines have been drawn on Kennison Field, the starting lineups set, and at 7 tonight the Hermiston Bulldogs and Pendleton Buckaroos will clash in a battle for not just Umatilla County, but for a share of the Intermountain Conference as well.

This is what they’ve both been hoping for all season long.

When the squads hit the field this year, they will be more evenly matched than in recent memory.

“Some years you can tell one team’s the favorite,” said Hermiston defensive coordinator Ryan Keefauver. “But this year, maybe more than any other year, it’s hard to tell who’s the favorite. The records prove it, and it should be a really exciting contest.”

Both teams earned 5-1 records in the Intermountain Conference this season with their only losses coming to schools from Bend (Hermiston to Mountain View and Pendleton to Bend). Mountain View and Bend are playing for the other share of the title tonight.

Hermiston’s attack has been overwhelmingly run-based this year, and as a unit the backfield has tallied 2,612 yards and 33 touchdowns on the ground. Hermiston (5-3) has the league’s highest-scoring offense at 39.6 points per game.

“They’re fast, they’re tough and they’re physical,” Pendleton head coach Tony Hilde said about Hermiston. “They have an obvious commitment to the running game. Everybody plays their part and plays it well. The preparation has to be heightened, and you can’t take plays off.”

Alex Ringe leads Hermiston with his 629 yards and 11 trips to the end zone, but a total of 11 Bulldogs have scored on running plays, demonstrating the flexibility of the roster.

Bryce Fritz and Ivan Amezcua will likely carry much of the load for Hermiston tonight, as Ringe has been suffering from an ankle injury since an Oct. 20 homecoming game against Summit.

The run attack has also proven potent for Pendleton (6-2) with 1,530 yards and 18 TDs, but it’s the passing game that has helped the Bucks open up the field. Senior Kenny Melton leads the Bucks’ ground game with 730 yards and 14 touchdowns, while quarterback Trevor Smith has completed 101 of 160 passes for 1,740 yards. He has many favorite targets, but Bobby Corey leads Pendleton in the receiving department with 41 catches for 772 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The quarterback role in Hermiston has been less of an absolute, as Michael Ramirez, Shae Schimmel and Bill Frost have each started at the position since opening day.

Ramirez has completed 26 of 45 passes for 503 yards, while Schimmel has hit 11 of 24 for 227 yards and three TDs.

“My style is to run the ball a little bit more, and their style is to pass the ball a little bit more,” said Hermiston coach David Lewis. “But that’s a coaching issue. If you stop and take a look at the kids, I don’t know that there’s a whole lot of difference.”

Defensively both teams have held up well. Pendleton has allowed fewer points overall (16.3 to 19.3 overall) but Hermiston has done better in conference play (10.3 to 11.6).

“Two good defenses and then (Hermiston’s) offense is based upon running the football,” Melton said. “When they do run, their pass is effective. The same thing with us. It’s just a matter of getting one thing going to complement another.”

On the defensive line, Hermiston’s Dane Pratt and Garrett Later have each earned five of the team’s 23 sacks, and that pressure has led to the Bulldogs’ 10 interceptions. Holt Morris brought in four of those picks and Schimmel grabbed three, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Melton has turned in two interceptions for scores, and Corey leads the Pendleton defense with seven picks. Senior Robert Thorne and junior Jake Lemberger each have 11 sacks for Pendleton.

Hermiston hopes to disrupt Pendleton’s passing game by forcing Smith to throw off-balance passes and keeping the receivers from earning big gains.

The Bucks’ defense has held opponents to around two touchdowns a game, and will make sure to keep an eye out for both the running game Hermiston is known for but also the pass threat.

“(We need to) spread the pocket out a little bit, and we can’t fall asleep on our heels,” Corey said. “When they run a pass, they’ll catch you asleep and they’ll go for big yards.”

While neither squad has an overwhelming advantage, Hermiston fans should be glad to know the team playing at home has won the contest – not to mention the championship outright – in each of the past two seasons.

Pendleton, however, owns the season series 71-7-1, dating back to 1922, and won 51-7 last season.