It will be tradition against tradition, legendary coach against legendary coach, hungry team against hungry team, when St. Mary's Springs and Lancaster meet on the FieldTurf of Middleton's Otto Breitenbach Stadium on Saturday with a trip to the Division 5 state finals on the line.

It shouldn't be a shock to anyone that that these teams are among the final four. After all, Springs (12-0) was ranked No. 2 in the Division 5 coaches poll to start the season and Lancaster (12-0) was ranked No. 3. Both teams stayed in those rankings the entire year.

And neither team is a stranger to lofty expectations. They have a combined 15 state championships.

"We know the whole story behind them," Springs senior quarterback Mitch Beau said. "They have probably been the most successful team in the state in recent years."

Both teams came painfully close to State last year. Four turnovers sent Springs home with a 25-20 loss to Colby. Six Lancaster turnovers were enough for a 24-0 loss to Cedar Grove.

Both teams have experienced coaching staffs leading them. Springs' Bob Hyland is second in Wisconsin history with 346 wins in 39 seasons. Lancaster's John Hoch has 226 wins in 28 seasons, leaving him in 19th place.

"The coaching staff hasn't (changed)," Hyland said of Lancaster's staff. "They've been together for 26 years, that's longer than (our staff)."

But those things are ultimately meaningless. What really matters is how much talent will line up on the field for the two teams on Saturday.

The Flying Arrows' wishbone offense starts with one of those talented athletes, fullback Trevor Landon. The junior has 1,481 yards and 27 touchdowns.

"They're fullback dominated. He carries the ball a majority of the time," Hyland said of Landon.

"We have to start by stopping him. If we don't stop him it's going to be a long day."

"He will be a big focus, but we can't focus our whole defense on one player," defensive tackle John Steiner added.

Lancaster's other weapons come in the form of first-year starting quarterback Nathan Budack (737 rushing yards) and Tyler Whitish, a running back with 613 rushing yards. They run behind an offensive line that relies on speed, much like Springs' defensive line.

"I think it will be a tough battle. Their line's not too big but they seem to get off the ball quick," Steiner said. "I think it will be two equal lines going at each other full speed."

There may be multiple offensive weapons for Lancaster, but still not as many as Springs has.

"They're going to man-up all over, they're going to pressure, they're going to gamble. They try to take away their opponents' bread and butter," Hyland said of Lancaster's defense. "But what is our bread and butter? Is it the option or our passing game?"

Well, so far it's been both. In three playoff games, the Ledgers have rushed for 498 yards and thrown for 459. For the season they have a thousand-yard rusher in Anthony Parker and a thousand-yard passer in Beau.

With options to play with, Springs still wasn't sure midweek how it would try to break down the Lancaster defense, which has allowed four teams to score 20 points or more.

"They run three down linemen and a bunch of linebackers and safeties," Beau said. "They like to blitz a lot, a real aggressive defense. We're trying to figure out as a team how we'll attack them."

Both teams will be searching for an answer that gives them a 14th game and a shot at a gold ball.