COUNCIL BLUFFS — If history teaches us anything, it’s that tonight’s 7 o’clock showdown between Council Bluffs St. Albert and West Lyon at Al Leber Field will go a long way toward deciding the Class 1-A football title.

The powers have met five times in the postseason in the past 11 years, and the winner has advanced to the championship game on each occasion.

Four of those five winners have gone on to capture state titles. The only one that didn’t was last year’s West Lyon team, which lost to Emmetsburg 3-0 in the 1-A final at the UNI-Dome.

The teams have won five state titles between them in the past 11 years. So to say that this week’s quarterfinal is a biggie would be an understatement.

With defending champ and top-rated Emmetsburg already eliminated, the unbeaten Falcons (11-0) and fifth-ranked Wildcats (10-1) are two of the favorites to claim the 1-A title trophy. Considering the history of this rivalry, don’t be surprised if the winner of tonight’s game is playing on championship Saturday.

“They’re one of the perennial powers in the state,” St. Albert coach Kevin Culjat said. “I don’t know how many times we’ve met in the last 10 years, but every single time one of us has ended up going to the championship game.

“They’re a great ballclub. They’re very well coached. And their kids play hard. They’re going to come down here and give us everything we can handle.”