It was lose or go home for the Kentwood High football team Friday night at French Field.

A few several miles down the road at Maxwell Stadium, Tahoma, which has struggled in the second half of the season, simply needed a win to gain a little confidence heading into the playoffs.

Both were accomplished.

Kentwood fended off Kentlake, 24-13, in a South Puget Sound League North Division game, clinching its 10th-straight playoff berth. Meanwhile, Tahoma hammered Graham-Kapowsin, 38-14 in a nonleague game that meant little in the standings, but everything in regards to the Bears’ confidence. The 38 points was nearly twice as many (21) as Tahoma had scored in the previous four weeks combined.

“It was a tough stretch,” admitted Tahoma coach Tony Davis. “But the kids never stopped believing.”

The same could be said for the Conquerors, whose backs were against the wall after an 0-2 league start. Kentwood hasn’t lost a league game since.

Now, though the journeys taken by the Conks (7-2) and Bears (6-3) have been vastly different, they find themselves in essentially the same spot: the playoffs.

Kentwood, the SPSL North’s No. 2 seed, plays host to Edmonds-Woodway (7-2), the Wesco South No. 2 seed, at 7:30 p.m. tonight at French Field. Roughly 50 miles north, Jackson (8-1), the Wesco South No. 1 seed, will play host to the Bears, the SPSL North’s No. 4 seed, at 7 p.m. at Everett Memorial Stadium.

Both are loser-out, winner-to-state games.

Despite its winning tradition, Kentwood hasn’t qualified for state since 2005. Tahoma, also perennial winners, haven’t advanced to state since 2006.

In Edmonds-Woodway, the Conks will face one of the state’s premier running backs in Tony Heard, last year’s Gatorade Player of the Year. Heard, who sat out last week’s win over Shorecrest, has rushed for nearly 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns in just six games this season.”

“He’ll be ready to go and chomping at the bit,” said Kentwood coach Rex Norris.

But the Warriors aren’t all about Heard. Wide receiver Din Kuses is one of the best in the state and will try and stretch a Kentwood defense that hasn’t been threatened much all year in the run-oriented SPSL North. Kuses has pulled in nearly 1,000 receiving yards and eight touchdowns this season. No receiver in the SPSL has gone for more than 700 yards this fall.

“He’s a very physical kid as well,” Norris said. “He’ll slap you out of the way to get open. He’s capable, has got good hands and is smart.”

Kentwood will counter with its traditional power running game, led by Darrius Coleman (1,159 yards, 10 touchdowns) and sophomore Joseph Banks (472 yards, 8 touchdowns).

The key for Kentwood, however, will be stopping Heard.

“If we can slow Heard down and hold them to 20 points, we have a chance,” Norris said.

Unlike Kentwood, Tahoma doesn’t have the luxury of a home game. Instead, the Bears will head up to Everett for a showdown with Jackson, a team that’s been on the bubble of the state rankings virtually the entire season.

The Wolves, a run-oriented team that plays a spread offense, enter tonight’s game on a six-game winning streak. Jackson’s lone loss of the year came on Sept. 19 against Arlington, 28-22.

In comparison, the Bears were stuck in an offensive rut until last week’s awakening against Graham-Kapowsin. Tahoma will need to duplicate the performance to get past Jackson.

“They’re a pretty talented team, but everybody is when you get to this level,” Davis said.

Jackson brings in one of the state’s most potent one-two punches in speedy running back Taylor Cox (962 yards, 16 touchdowns) and bruiser Riley Carr (702, 10). But behind quarterback Andy Gay (63 of 94 for 1,088 yards), the Wolves also are plenty capable of getting it done through the air.

To earn a state berth, the Bears will need the balanced attack they showed in the first four weeks of the season. A time when quarterback Heyden Johnson couldn’t miss and running back Chris Marangon was finding all the seams.

“I think I went through a little slump there for a while,” admits Johnson, a senior. “But I think we’re all starting to come out of it and we’re playing our best football right now.”