PHOTOS BY CLAY WHITTINGTON Badgers' head coach Joey McQueen barks out instructions to his players during a recent practice. The pressure is ratcheting up on campus as Lampasas must win tonight to maintain control of its postseason fate. Last week, when Lampasas' grass practice field was a sloppy mess from recent rains, Badgers head coach Joey McQueen placed a call to Cord Woerner asking to conduct practice on Marble Falls' freshly installed turf field.

The Mustangs head coach politely obliged.

While the gesture was extremely gracious, McQueen will hold off on returning the favor.

At least until next week.

Tonight, the two teams clash at Badger Stadium with a potential playoff berth hanging in the balance, and both coaches are scrambling to obtain any advantage they can over the other.

"I thought about calling and saying 'Hey, can we come over today?' but I knew that wasn't going to happen," McQueen joked. "He would have said, 'Not today.' "

With so much on the line, McQueen doesn't blame his colleague.

Both teams own identical 1-2 district records, which means the winner of tonight's game moves into prime position to grab a playoff spot.

While the Mustangs gallop into Lampasas on a two-game losing streak, the Badgers are riding a tidal wave of momentum.

Strangely, the initial surge was produced by a 31-point defeat at the hands of state powerhouse Lake Travis two weeks ago.

The 38-7 loss was not as lopsided as the score indicates, however, as Lampasas (2-5, 1-2 District 25- 4A) became the first team this season to hold the Cavaliers under 40 points.

Last week, Lake Travis returned to form, smashing Hendrickson 58- 15, and the Badgers went on to snap a two-year district losing streak with a one-sided 42-21 victory at Dripping Springs.

"We were able to do some good things against a good team [in Lake Travis] and even though we didn't win or score like we wanted to, we were able to move the ball, play good defense, and our kids knew they played [a good game]," McQueen said. "If you can leave a game, whether you win or lose, and know you made some progress then it's going to be a good time."

While moral victories are important toward building the spirits of a team, they are of little use at this point in the season.

After earning a critical victory last week, the Badgers must rise to the occasion once again tonight as a defeat could potentially spell disaster for their playoff hopes.

A victory provides separation from the Mustangs and boosts Lampasas into the upper echelon of district teams, making the Badgers' final two games -- especially the season-finale against Hutto -- virtual must-win situations.

"I expect the stands to be packed," McQueen said. "I told the kids that we have to treat every week as a playoff game.

"And if you want to know what a playoff game is like, then experience this Friday night and you'll see."

For the third consecutive week, quarterback Colton Perkins will not start as he continues to recover from a high ankle sprain.

The injury occurred in the Lake Travis game. Perkins did not start because he missed a few practices that week with the flu.

The injury moves senior Vann Millican into the starting spot once again, with Astin Murray prepared to take over if necessary. Perkins will suit up but is expected to play only if Millican and Murray are sidelined.

At Dripping Springs, Millican completed two of five passing attempts and gave the Badgers their first passing touchdown of the season when he found Murray late in the first half.

"Vann did an excellent job last week," McQueen said. "It's not that we want to throw the ball a lot, but it's just the fact that we need to take what [the defense] gives us."

While Lampasas most likely will be without Perkins, senior running back Brode DuBose is expected to be at 100 percent for the game after suffering a knee injury during the tail end of the Lake Travis contest.

DuBose was used sparingly against the Tigers, running the ball five times for 20 yards. With DuBose sidelined for most of the game, Edward Hall ran wild, racking up 216 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries.

"We have a good combination when Brode and Ed are in there," McQueen said. "When you've got Brode going full speed at full back, he's hard to stop. And when you've got Ed hitting traps, and blocking for Brode and running bucks and sweeps, then that just gives you another dimension.

"You've got to praise the linemen, though, because they are down in the trenches doing the dirty work."

The offensive line will have its hands full once again tonight as, statistically, Marble Falls (4-3, 1- 2) owns the best pass and run defenses in the district, allowing a mere 253.3 yards of offense per game over the entire season.

The stats are somewhat skewed, however, because the Mustangs played a weak non-district schedule. In their two district losses, Marble Falls has given up a total of 884 yards to the opposition.

While McQueen would prefer to have a postseason spot already locked up, he's enjoying the lateseason, pressure-packed situations.

"We're having fun practicing, the kids are upbeat, and it beats being 0-7 and not having a chance," the coach said. "It's an exciting time for the kids and the community, and we just have to take this game one step at a time."

After that, who knows?

Down the line, Lampasas just might find itself preparing for a playoff game on Marble Falls' field.

Or vice versa.