ELDON, Mo. - The rematch is on.
The two squads don't play in the same conference, but the Eldon and Owensville football teams certainly know each other's personnel very well. After tonight they will have played each other four times in the past two seasons.
For the second consecutive year, the Eldon Mustangs and Owensville Dutchmen square off in the Class 3 District 3 championship game, with fourth-seeded Owensville (8-3) traveling to second-seeded Eldon (10-1). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Both advanced by posting district semifinal victories last week, with Eldon knocking off third-seeded Springfield Catholic 38-13 and Owensville taking down top-seeded St. James 35-34, when St. James missed a potential overtime-forcing extra point attempt with 4:30 remaining.
Last year Owensville had the decided upper-hand in the rivalry, beating Eldon 48-27 in the regular season and 47-27 in the district final, with the Dutchmen going on to lose in the quarterfinals to eventual Class 3 state champion Monett.
Eldon turned the table in a wild contrast of offensive philosophies Aug. 25 this season, outscoring the Dutchmen 72-69.
That sets up tonight's highly anticipated rematch.
"We know Owensville as well as anybody," said Eldon head coach Shannon Jolley. "We know they are one of the better Class 3 teams in the state. They're a pretty outstanding team. They are well-coached and do a lot of dynamic things."
Having to rebuild their defense due to injuries and major graduation losses, the Dutchmen stumbled out of the gate this fall, dropping three of their first four games. However, whatever was wrong early, Owensville has now figured it out and are currently on a seven-game winning streak.
"I don't know if I can put my finger on it," Jolley said of the reason for Owensville's early troubles. "I haven't followed them throughout their season. All I can tell you about is our team now. And I think we've matured greatly over the season. Owensville is a dangerous offense. Watching film, I don't know that you can see two different teams. I know they scored 69 points on us (earlier this season)."
The Mustangs are also riding a seven-game winning streak.
Something's gotta give tonight.
The matchup has two of the area's top-scoring teams facing off. Eldon averages 52.1 points per game while Owensville is scoring at a 46.5 clip.
Senior quarterback Wyatt Ellis continues to be the center of the Dutchman attack. Ellis, the 2016 Four Rivers Conference Player of the Year, shared that award with St. James senior quarterback Ryan Harlan this fall.
Ellis followed his banner 2016 by hitting on 117-of-216 passes for 1,920 yards, 19 touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 1,770 yards (9.3 yards-per-carry) and a whopping 27 touchdowns this season.
"I think he is one of the better football players in the state," Jolley said. "He is tremendously competitive; I know our kids have a lot of respect for him.
"When you throw the ball and do the things they do, you get good at it. There are only so many things you can do against a team that goes five-wide and a one-back set. We have spent a lot of time on it."
Owensville also has a second big rusher in its backfield in senior running back Tanner Rector, who has 1,517 yards (8.8) and 16 touchdowns.
Ellis has spread his passes around, as senior wideout Dustin Faragher has 30 receptions for 558 yards and four touchdowns; senior wideout Sean Irwin 24 catches for 543 yards and five TDs; Rector 20 catches for 257 yards and four TDs; senior Colton Moore 14 catches for 160 yards, and senior wideout Grant Steever 13 catches for 170 yards.
Faragher, a linebacker, paces the Dutchman defense in tackles with 80 while senior end Richard Nelms has 57 and Moore, an end, 56. Irwin, a safety, and Faragher each have four interceptions.
The Dutchmen will have their hands full trying to slow down the Mustang wing-T rushing attack that has produced more than 5,000 yards of total offense, including 4,305 rushing yards, a 7.3 yards-per-carry average and 60 rushing touchdowns.
"I think some of the point totals we've put up have been very deceiving, because we've played some teams who were struggling a little at that time," Jolley said. "But I think we've got some explosive players who can take it the length of the field."
For the Mustangs, senior running back Isaiah Merida has rushed for 1,534 yards (8.7 yards-per-carry) and 19 touchdowns while junior fullback Isaiah Parsons has 1,195 yards (5.7) and 22 TDs, junior quarterback Dawson Brandt 711 yards (9.7) and 11 TDs and senior wingback Trenton Dillon 406 yards (14.5).
And Brandt has caught opponents off-guard by being effective in play-action passing, having completed 23-of-55 passes for 685 yards with 14 touchdowns and eight 2-point conversions compared to just three interceptions.
Merida has caught seven passes for 209 yards and four TDs and senior tight end Cole Walker has seven catches for 130 yards and three TDs.
Jolley feels his squad is about as ready as it can be to take on the Dutchmen again.
"We've had an outstanding week of practice, probably the best week we've had this season," Jolley said. "We still have a lot of work to do, but this team is definitely special. It's just a great group of kids because of their hard work."
The Eldon-Owensville winner moves on to next week's quarterfinals to meet the District 4 winner of tonight's game between Mount Vernon (7-4) and Reeds Spring (9-2).