By Jeremy Short

Phoenix Correspondent

WAGONER — The playoff picture in District 4A-4 will be a lot clearer after Wagoner and Sallisaw square off tonight.

As it stands Wagoner (5-3, 4-1) and Sallisaw (7-1, 4-1) are tied for second place behind Broken Bow, whom both teams already lost to. That makes this week’s game vital to playoff positioning especially in regard to home-field advantage in the opening week.

“Basically if things play out like we think, these are the second and third teams and if we win we could get a home playoff game,” Wagoner coach Dale Condict said. “Maybe more than that, if you win a big game late in the season it can be huge for momentum.”

The Black Diamonds will be the second top 10 team Wagoner has played in the last three weeks. Two weeks ago, the Bulldogs went on the road and suffered a tough 31-27 loss to No. 2 Broken Bow.

“In the Broken Bow game there were a few times when we could have made big plays but didn’t,” said Condict. “Hopefully we can make those against Sallisaw.”

Sallisaw comes into Friday’s game riding a four-game winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents by an average of 41-7.

The Wagoner defense, led by linebackers Aaron Applegate (118 tackles and 4 sacks) and Gus Jones (76 tackles and 2 sacks) will be challenged by a Sallisaw offense that comes into the game averaging a district best 38 points per game.

Led by junior quarterback Matt Oberste (1,159 yards passing and 13 touchdowns) and senior running back Matt Mitchell (967 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns), the Black Diamonds have been held to under 30 points just once all season and that was the lone blemish on their record, a 28-27 loss to Broken Bow in the fourth week of the season.

“They probably have a more balanced attack than anyone we’ve seen since East Central,” said Condict. “Their offensive line is really good and their quarterback is one of the best in the class.”

The Bulldogs offense will be going up against a Sallisaw unit that has allowed just 83 points all season. Wagoner will look to Jones for a presence in the running game, but last week’s Phoenix Player of the Week, quarterback Prince McJunkins, also figures to play an important role with the play-action pass, something that has greatly benefited the Bulldogs’ offensive attack recently.

“We’ve done a good job of running the ball all year,” said Condict. “The key is if we’ll be able to make passing plays when we have to.”

Tonight’s game will be the first meeting between the teams since 2003 when Sallisaw dealt Wagoner a 34-6 loss in the first round of the playoffs.