No one would just come out and say it. They danced around the obvious, with sarcasm, sandbags and self-deprecation. But neither Woodland head coach Mark Greenleaf nor R.A. Long head coach Erik Bertram would flat-out declare that Friday night’s battle at Longview Memorial Stadium between the Beavers and Lumberjacks is an absolute must-win.

Want a Greater St. Helens 2A League championship? Gotta win this one.

Want to host a playoff game? Gotta win this one.

Here is Bertram on the magnitude of Friday’s 7 p.m. rendezvous: “We want to be peaking now and still be excited for what is hopefully a playoff run at the end of the season. It’s just the start of league.”

Just the start of league?

Mr. Greenleaf, your rebuttal.

“It is probably the best game in the league, (tonight),” said Greenleaf, whose Beavers (4-0) are 3-0 against R.A. Long in GSHL 2A history. “Whoever comes out ahead of this has the momentum going into the rest of league.”

That’s it? Momentum?

“My impression of R.A. Long is that they are highly talented, quick, very aggressive defensively and as capable of winning the league as anybody,” Greenleaf said. “This is not an (R.A. Long) team of the past. It’s a team of high-caliber athletes. Their offensive scheme is very effective, and their defense is probably one of the better defenses in the league.

“I think they have, overall, the best skill level in the league,” he added. “I think they are more skilled than Mark Morris, and a step above everybody in overall speed.”

Put that butter on your popcorn.

The GSHL 2A follows the same schedule every year. The Jacks always open with Woodland. This means RAL has never started league play with a win.

Woodland won 60-8 in ’07 and 28-10 in ’08, then took advantage of four RAL turnovers and survived an 18-12 thriller last season.

That was the coming-out party for quarterback Trevor Hurn, a junior locked in a position battle with a senior heading into that game. Hurn won the job in a steady downpour, throwing two touchdown passes and converting several key third- and fourth-down situations with his trademark accuracy.

Now a senior, Hurn orchestrates one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the region. He has completed 64-of-119 passes for 1,057 yards and 12 touchdowns. Hurn’s favorite target is senior all-state candidate Shane Brady, a physical, speedy, athletic, 6-foot-2 coverage conundrum. Hurn’s receiving cohorts include 6-3 senior Elijah Denis and 6-2 sophomore Nick Fuller.

That trio and their strong-armed enabler are a matchup nightmare no one has solved.

“If Hurn has time, he delivers the ball on the money,” Bertram said. “He is real accurate and has a strong arm. Their receivers are so big that if the ball is on the money, there is not much you can do about it. We’ve got to cover the big guys. Regardless of what we do (scheme-wise), we need people around them.

“Their guys up front are good, too,” he added. “We’re not going to blitz at all.”

For the sarcasm impaired, this means they will blitz. R.A. Long would also like to control the ball — and limit Hurn’s opportunities — with a balanced offensive attack. Bertram pondered a change at the quarterback position following the Jacks’ Week 4 win over Notre Dame, B.C., but said he will platoon senior William Yordy and junior Austin Wegdahl tonight.

“We’re going with the two-headed monster again,” said Bertram. “They will rotate by series, and we’ll see who has the hot hand.”

Greenleaf hopes his defense, which will retain the services of middle linebacker Pat Warner after a one-week injury hiatus, can force R.A. Long’s hand.

“We need to slow down their offense and put them in third-and-longs, to where they have to throw so we don’t have to worry about the run,” he said. “They have two quarterbacks who are very efficient, and a couple of wide receivers who are pretty explosive when they get the ball.”

Kody Cassidy, the Jacks’ fastest tailback, has been lost for the season to a knee injury. Senior Thomas McCall, a bruiser who can control the clock and field position with his tough running, has recovered from the flu-like symptoms that rendered him an afterthought in last week’s game plan.

R.A. Long has already lost a pair of two-way senior linemen for the season due to injury.

Woodland has its own injury issues. Senior Cole Clark, the starting tailback, will miss a few weeks with an ankle injury sustained in the Beavers’ Week 4 win against La Center. Tailbacks Jade Denny and Austin Ripp, and starting fullback David Lubinski, will pick up the slack in Clark’s stead.

“I have a quarterback who is calm and collected and can throw and thread the ball pretty well,” Greenleaf said. “We have some wide receivers who are talented. Our running game is improving each week. But if you can’t block up front, you can’t run or pass.

“I think the game will be highly explosive,” he added. “It’s critical that we come out firing on all cylinders, and hopefully we have big plays like the ones that have helped us get through our last two games. I think both teams need those big plays.”

Bertram is also hoping for a consistent, four-quarter effort from his team, which has mustered consecutive good-Jack, bad-Jack performances against Astoria and Notre Dame. In the second half against Astoria, RAL played its best football of the season and probably its best of the past three years. In the second half against Notre Dame, the Jacks eased up on the throttle a little too much.

“We didn’t have that sense of urgency,” Bertram said. “I think we’ll be ready to go. We’ve never started this league with a win. This game is a huge hurdle. Obviously, Woodland is rolling. And they’ve kind of been kicking the Jacks around, three years in a row.”

In other 7 p.m. action Friday, Mark Morris (3-1) visits Washougal (1-3) in the GSHL 2A opener for both. The SWW 1A Trico Division also opens for business, as Castle Rock (2-2) hosts White Salmon (1-2) and Kalama (2-2) visits Ilwaco (0-4).

In the SWW 1A Evergreen, Toledo (3-1, 1-1 league) is at Tenino (0-4, 0-2) and Winlock (3-1, 1-0) travels to Forks (2-2, 1-1). Vancouver Christian (1-2, 0-2) visits Toutle Lake (2-2, 0-1) in a Central 2B League must-win for the Ducks, Wahkiakum (3-1, 2-0) will try to maintain its Central momentum at Pe Ell (2-2, 0-2), and short-handed Naselle (4-0, 1-0) faces a huge Pacific 2B League test as it hosts Willapa Valley (3-1, 1-0).

In Oregon, Rainier (2-2) wraps up the nonleague schedule when it hosts the Jesuit junior varsity for its fifth straight home game, while Clatskanie (0-4) has a 7:30 p.m. tilt against Blanchet at Willamette University.

Friday night radio

Woodland at R.A. Long: KBAM-1270, 6:40 p.m.

Mark Morris at Washougal: KEDO-1400, 6:45 p.m.