After the regular season matchup between Warrenton and Wright City was cancelled three seasons ago, the programs have met only on the losing side of tournament brackets.With both teams winning their first-round games in the Hermann Tournament on Tuesday, the prize will now be more than bragging rights. The winner finds itself in what would be the first title game appearance at this tournament in over a decade.“All eyes are on us now,” said Wright City Coach Rick Halteman. “We always felt like we were looking in at the excitement and in the background, and now we get to be a part of the party.”The Wildcats defeated New Haven, while Warrenton topped Chamois. Both have seen significant improvements this season, with the Warriors moving to 10-7 and the Wildcats standing at 8-9.“It kind of shows you that Warren County basketball in general has been trending upwards,” said Uffmann. “There’s definitely more at stake than usual.”The last time these two met was memorable more in terms of how it ended than for what it stood. Wright City held off Warrenton 65-56 in double overtime during the consolation final of the Clopton Tournament last January.This time some of the matchups will be similar, but both teams are seeing contributions from players who weren’t nearly as big a factor 12 months ago.“They’ve got two pretty good guards they run everything through,” complimented Uffmann of Wright City.He was referring to Ty Davis and Bret Noble, averaging around 17 points a piece.Davis has been the feature player for the Wildcats, while senior Tonioli is averaging 16 points and six rebounds as Warrenton’s leading scorer.Senior Craig Vardiman is the Warriors’ top threat inside, averaging 12.3 points and 16 boards per game. He is expected to match up against Wright City senior Christian Thompson.“Thompson is like Craig, playing hard and using his body well,” added Uffmann.“They’re a little bigger than us,” said Halteman. “We definitely need to focus on their inside game. We’ve got to make sure we control the boards and don’t give them anything easy.”Uffmann feels the difference will be who contributes outside of the expected.“Our 2-guards and there’s are similar,” said Uffmann. “We’ll have to have somebody besides those three step up.”WARRENTON, WRIGHT CITY MEET THURSDAYDerrick Forsythe photo.