The temperatures may be getting cooler, but championship fever is rampant in Prattville.

The Prattville High School football team travels east tonight to face Opelika High School in the Class 6A semifinals.

"Fan support is very important to us. There's nothing like looking up in the stands and seeing them packed with Prattville folks," said Bill Clark, head football coach and athletic director at the high school. "We play for our school, we play for our families. But the team knows there's a higher calling. We play for Prattville."

And this time maybe they are playing for something more.

On Thanksgiving, assistant coach Lorenzo Pickett died before practice, likely of a heart attack. Two former players, Carlos Pernell and Stephen Bicknell, were killed this year in combat-related deaths in Iraq. Players have been sporting stickers on their helmets displaying the fallen soldiers' jersey numbers.

The Lions are in a unique situation: The town of about 32,000 has only one high school.

"People here are crazy about high school football, and that means Lions football," said Tom Little, who plans on driving down with his Chevy Tahoe crammed full of goodies for tailgating in Opelika. "We don't have to split our allegiances, it's Prattville High and nobody else."

Mayor Jim Byard will head out mid-afternoon today, traveling with City Council President Dean Argo and Circuit Clerk Whit Moncrief. Byard is a 1984 graduate of Prattville High and a season ticket holder.

"Home games are great, but there's a different feeling on a road trip," the mayor said. "You see a lot of the same people every road trip, it's like traveling with 3,000 of your closest friends. It's a different kind of excitement. You know the other team will have their fans there. It's important to our team, band and cheerleaders to know they have support, too."

Being in the heat of the championship battle is nothing new to the Lions. For the past five seasons, it's almost been a lock that Prattville will be in the playoffs. The team made it to the Big Dance in Birmingham in 2004, falling to Hoover in the championship game.

"I think we're looking at a rematch this year," said Chris Williams of Prattville. "We had a lot of young players in key positions in '04 and I think they may have been overwhelmed by the whole thing. I've been to all the games this year, and this looks like a much more mature team. I think they will bring the championship home to Prattville this year."