Hovering over his Penn-Trafford football team last Friday night, T.J. Wiley stood proud.

Despite the fact his Warriors suffered a 56-31 defeat at Erie McDowell and were still facing a long journey back to Westmoreland County, Wiley quickly began listening to his players' chatter.

"They were talking about Norwin," the first-year Penn-Trafford coach said. "Now these kids just played toe-to-toe with a very good team and could have been down over the score, but they weren't. They remained focused and our focus all year has been our next game."

And there will be a lot riding on this final regular-season Foothills Conference clash for both teams.

Besides being one of the biggest Quad-A rivalries in Westmoreland County, the schools, whose districts boarder one another, will be playing for the final conference spot into the WPIAL playoffs. The Knights (4-4, 2-3) travel to Penn-Trafford (2-6, 2-3) and kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

"These kids have had this game circled on their calendars all year," Wiley said. "When I was hired and went to the [Norwin and Penn-Trafford] basketball game, I was amazed by the enthusiasm.

"This has been these kids' focus. This game is what they talk about all year. They know each other and grew up with one another. This is the game these kids have always wanted to play in [since they were young].

"It's Western Pennsylvania at its best, and with the playoffs being on the line, it makes it even better."

Penn-Trafford has won five of the past six meetings between the two teams, including a 13-6 decision last year. Norwin's last victory came in a 27-6 win in 2007.

"The rivalry is huge," Knights coach Dan Conwell said. "These two schools have a long tradition. There's a lot of bragging rights on the line."

Gateway (8-0, 5-0), McKeesport (7-1, 5-0) and Greater Latrobe (4-4, 3-2) secured playoff berths last week. Erie McDowell is a District 10 school that plays a Foothills Conference schedule. The Trojans are 6-2 overall and have gone 3-2 against Foothills teams but aren't eligible for the playoffs.

"This game is very important, especially because whoever wins moves on," Conwell said. "We pretty much control our own destiny and it's a do-or-die situation.

"If we take care of business, we'll live to fight another fight."

Norwin, which began the season 3-1, has lost three of its past four games including its last two against McKeesport and Latrobe, respectively. The Knights owned a 21-10 lead against Latrobe at the half last week, but suffered a 31-28 loss at home.

"We're pretty much playing the same way we've played all year and that's inconsistent," Conwell said. "Not putting things together on the field has really been a thorn in our side. We seem to do one thing correct on one side of the ball but not the other."

Norwin quarterback Tim Petro rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, passing for 121 yards against Latrobe. Running back Tyler Lukart caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Petro and also rushed for another score.

Petro has completed 59 of 123 passes for 751 yards this season.

"[Norwin] is a team that has gotten better since last year," Wiley said. "They started hot and have played some really tough teams.

"They have good running backs in [Lukart] and [Joel DeFelice]. They have a good quarterback in [Petro] and they also like to get [wide receiver Christian Bryan] the ball."

The Warriors enter the contest riding a three-game losing streak.

"I really think we're in a good spot," Wiley said. "We played with a good team [Erie McDowell], moved the ball on them and forced them to break down a few times.

"We just have to play a total and complete game."

Penn-Trafford received strong performances from both running back Manny Simpson and quarterback Zach Emerick against Erie McDowell. Simpson rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown, while Emerick, who has thrown for 795 yards this season, completed 16 of 27 for 172 yards and a score.

"They're a physical football team with a lot of formations to prepare for," Conwell said. "They're big up front and they like to pound the ball. They like to run and will make you pay for your mistakes.

"We have to outscore them and rely on our basic fundamentals."

n What: Norwin at Penn-Trafford.

n When: 7:30 p.m. tomorrow.

n Where: Warriors Stadium at Penn-Trafford High.

n The skinny: Neither team has a winning record but that doesn't matter. The winner of this Class AAAA Foothills Conference contest is in the WPIAL playoffs.

Mike White's "High School Sports Edition" videos are featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.