This is no time for words of wisdom.

All the classic cliches apply – do or die, backs against the wall, win or go home – but none of them matter.

The only thing that’s important for the Lawrence High football team as it prepares for tonight’s district finale at Topeka High, is what’s inside.

“This is a pride thing now,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “These guys are going to be remembered as a high-character, great group of kids. But if they lose to Topeka High, they’ll be remembered as the team that didn’t make the playoffs. And that’s unacceptable.”

Armed with that mentality, the Lions (3-5) head to Hummer Sports Park determined to pick up a victory. If they succeed, they’ll advance to the Class 6A state playoffs for the sixth straight season.

Ask the Lions, though, and they’ll say the postseason already has begun.

“Our playoffs start Friday night,” Wedd said. “If we win, we advance. If we lose, we go home.”

Standing in the way of LHS’s goal is a Topeka High squad that faces the same scenario. Thanks to a 14-13, come-from-behind victory over Washburn Rural last week, the Trojans (2-6) also sit one victory away from advancing to state.

The situation was the same in 2006, though the venues were different. LHS beat Washburn Rural, lost to Free State and then played host to Topeka High with the season on the line. The result was a 52-28 pasting of the Trojans that propelled LHS into the playoffs, where they defeated Blue Valley North in Round One before bowing out in the quarterfinals against eventual state runner-up Shawnee Mission West.

“Last year we were in the same spot,” Wedd said. “It’s nice to know that the kids have been there before and have responded. In the last three years, we’ve won four playoff games. That’s as many as any team in the Sunflower League, so we know how to get the job done.”

Now it’s just a matter of doing it, and that’s easier said than done.

Already without its top two receivers, the Lions were dealt another blow this week when senior co-captain Quintin Rucker went down with a left knee injury. Rucker, a two-way starter at tight end and defensive end, injured the knee in the loss to Free State and will not play tonight.

“Now that Quintin’s out, it’s just like, ‘Gosh, another one. Why is this happening to us?'” senior linebacker Chase Muder said. “But we can’t think of it that way. We just have to go out there and continue to play hard.”

For the few remaining seniors who have avoided injury, guys like Muder, Tyler Hunt, Josh Wedel and Sklyer Countess, that means relying on several underclassmen to help reach the goal. By now, they’re used to that.

“They aren’t really juniors anymore, they’re kind of like seniors, and they’ve all done a good job filling in the empty spots,” Hunt said. “The juniors need to really step up, and the seniors that are still playing need to step up even more than that.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.