Who's king of the wild?

It was Halloween Night of last year and with 7:10 showing on the clock it looked as if Pierce High had finally broken through and was on its way to its first victory of the season.

Time was still left however. And when Live Oak finished off a 20-play, 98-yard drive to score the game-winning touchdown in the waning seconds of the game, the Lions walked away from Arbuckle with a thrilling 26-21 win, handing the junior-laden Bears yet another heartbreaking loss toward the end of a difficult 0-10 campaign.

What a difference 12 months can make.

A year later, those green juniors have become experienced seniors, and when the Bears and Lions meet up again tonight in Live Oak, Pierce will not only be looking to sure up a playoff spot, but will also look to clinch at least a share of the Sacramento Valley League title.

With a 3-1 SVL mark, Pierce (5-3) sits in sole possession of second place, trailing only Trinity and Durham who are both 6-3 overall and 4-1 in league play. But after the Bears' huge 20-12 victory over Trinity last week, the teams are locked in a virtual three-way tie atop the standings with one week left to play.

The pair are also the top two seeds in the Northern Section Division III rankings, meaning that if the Bears win out, they could clinch homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

It's been quite a turnaround from last year's 0-10 season, but don't tell that to Pierce coach Roy Perkins, who has his team focusing solely on the task at hand.

"It's going to be a real battle. Physically, they're as good as anybody we've played," Perkins said of the Lions, who enter tonight's game well rested after a much-needed bye week. "It's going to be a real difficult game for us. Hopefully, we'll match up alright, and show up and play well."

While Pierce is riding high in the driver's seat, Live Oak is looking to get its season back on track after a horrendous three-game stretch dropped them to fifth place with a 1-3 league mark.

It's been a frustrating run for the Lions, who jumped out to a 4-1 start before injuries and plain old bad luck consumed their last week three weeks.

Making things tougher for Live Oak fans is the fact that the Lions were a play or two away from winning each game and were outscored by a combined total of just seven points in the three losses.

While Live Oak coach Dan Johnson refused to use the injuries as an excuse, it's clear that the Lions have been hampered by the rash of ailments in recent weeks. But with big-play threat Tony Montes, left tackle Nevor Mendoza and the rest of the Lions well-rested after the bye, the Lions look to turn things around starting tonight.

"It's just a matter of us learning how to finish games — we've kind of let teams back in it the last few weeks," Johnson said. "We just need to figure out how to finish things off and quit letting people back in it when we're up by a few scores."