The Pike County Bulldogs will renew their rivalry with Goshen this evening at Eagles Stadium.

The Bulldogs have wrapped up region play and now they look forward to a fun matchup with their familiar rivals.

“Our guys are pretty excited,” said head coach Fred Holland. “Our players are very familiar with one another. We are in the same county and Bart (Snyder) does a good job preparing his kids. I think our guys are about ready for the game and we are looking forward to an exciting time.”

The Eagles have a lot riding on this game. Even though the two teams are from different classifications, a win for the Eagles will go a long way towards winning a region championship. The Bulldogs, however, are focusing on improving and preparing themselves for the post season.

“We are trying to stay on the winning edge,” Holland said. “We’re trying to get better as we go into the playoffs. Everything we do is important. They have great region potential. It’s going to be a great, intense game for them and we look forward to a great game.”

Holland admitted he has not seen a situation where a game between two teams from two classifications had so much riding on the conclusion.

“I haven’t seen it,” Holland said. “I know that it happens sometimes.”

Since losing to Montgomery Academy on September 15, the Bulldogs have rattled off five straight victories including a 33-6 win over Beulah a week ago.

“I think we are progressing in the right direction,” Holland said. “We are steadily improving. That is something we wanted to do. Coming off the Montgomery Academy loss, I talked about wanting to get better. We still have this week and next week to get ready.”

Even though Goshen is from a smaller classification, the Bulldogs are ready for a battle from the 7-1 Eagles.

“I expect them to be very tough,” Holland said. “They have a lot of seniors and they have played a lot of ball. With that senior leadership, it has been positive with what I have seen on film. They are a very good and well-coached team. We look forward to it being an exciting football team.”

The Bulldogs won last season’s meeting 54-13. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.