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With important things like home-field advantage in the playoffs and momentum on the line, Saturday's 15th renewal of the I-70 rivalry between Urbana and Linganore extends well beyond bragging rights and personal pride. Both teams are trying to secure the top seed in their regions and earn home games at least through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Urbana (8-1) holds a comfortable lead in the Class 4A North standings with 82 accumulated points and will almost certainly be the top seed in the region, even with a loss to Linganore . A win would sew it up. The host Lancers, meanwhile, will likely need a win over the Hawks and a Quince Orchard loss to defending 4A state champion Sherwood to earn the top seed in the very competitive 3A West. Linganore (9-0) trails Quince Orchard by two points for the top spot in the region. The Lancers have 104 accumulated points. "Home field was a big plus for us last year," said Linganore coach Rick Conner, who led his team to the 4A championship game by winning three playoff games at home. "But eventually you are going to have to play everywhere. All of the fields are 100 yards long, as far as I know." Urbana was rolling through its season until a 27-24 home loss to Tuscarora last Friday, spoiling what would have been just the second battle of unbeatens between the Hawks and Linganore . The only previous time Urbana and Linganore were unbeaten and on the same field occurred in 2003, when the Hawks handed the Lancers their only loss, 23-6, of the season. Linganore came back to beat them, 14-7, in the regional championship game two weeks later on its way to a fourth state championship. "It's always a big game on the schedule," said Conner, a former Urbana assistant before taking over the Linganore job. "It's a great opportunity to play a team that is well-coached and has outstanding players." Practices at Urbana this week have been sharper than usual, as the Hawks hope to avoid sliding into the playoffs on a two-game losing streak. The loss to Tuscarora hit them hard. "The whole team was in tears after the game," senior running back Zach Herman said. "It was definitely a painful game." The Urbana defense uncharacteristically gave up numerous big plays, a partial result of the Hawks becoming lackadaisical and taking things for granted, according to senior quarterback Jesse Heon. "I think that loss, more than anything, made us realize that we are not invincible and that anything can happen," Heon said. Among the Hawks that didn't play in the game due to various illnesses and injuries was defensive playmaker Matt Semelsberger, who had the flu. "That made a huge difference for us," Urbana coach Joe Conner said. "Tuscarora ran several plays right where we would expect him to be." Conner said that injuries and missing players weren't the reason that Urbana lost the game, however. "I'd like to think of last week as a growing experience for our kids," he said. "Tuscarora is a pretty good football team. We knew going in that, if they played well, they could beat us." Linganore , meanwhile, is coming off a 24-14 victory at Thomas Johnson that saw the Lancers overcome five turnovers and eight penalties. They are hoping to finish unbeaten in the regular season for the second consecutive year. "We are a little banged up right now, but we had a good week of preparation," Conner said. "The team is pretty focused. We are looking forward to the challenge." Linganore is looking for its second straight win over Urbana , the first back-to-back victories in the series since the Hawks won a 2006 playoff game and then the regular season meeting in '07. Urbana leads the series 8-6 overall. The visiting team has won 10 of the 14 overall.
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