ARKADELPHIA -- Just before 11:30 this morning, the Henderson State football team will make the 0.7-mile trek from the Formby Athletic Center to the campus of rival Ouachita Baptist University.
The Reddies, in full uniform and helmets on, will march down M.H. Russell Drive on the Henderson side, with head coach Scott Maxfield leading the way.
They will not break stride as they cross U.S. 67 -- with state police halting traffic both ways -- before making their way into OBU's Cliff Harris Stadium to go through warmups for the Battle of the Ravine, the 94th version.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., and has been the case more often than not in recent seasons, there is more on the line than yearlong bragging rights.
It would not be surprising, OBU Athletic Director David Sharp said, for a crowd of more than 10,000 to spill over from stands to the grassy berms with blue skies and temperatures forecast to reach the mid-50s.
Henderson State (9-1, 9-1 GAC) needs a win to claim a share of the Great American Conference title, its first since 2015, and a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
OBU, which leads the series 44-43-6, has won the past four meetings, including in 2019, the last time the game was played -- 24-21 at Cliff Harris Stadium.
The Tigers (8-2, 8-2) have won or shared three consecutive GAC titles, but they need to win and hope that Harding (9-1, 9-1) loses at Arkansas Tech (4-6, 4-6 GAC) to pull into a four-way tie atop the standings.
OBU Coach Todd Knight, 11-8 against Henderson and 7-7 in games against Maxfield, said he doesn't concern himself with thinking about which team has more on the line and who may have the psychological advantage.
"I see it as the 11th game and the Battle of the Ravine," Knight said.
Sharp, who like Knight is a former OBU player, has been actively involved in the rivalry since 1975 when he took part as a player.
Sharp made it sound like the walk for the visiting team is a tasty appetizer for the main course.
"You sense the feel of the crowd, the fans," Sharp said. "There's nothing like that walk to go play it. You've got to experience it to really understand it.
"When you walk from your dressing room, through your crowd, through the opposing team's crowd. ... But you get on the field and then it becomes a home game or an away game. It's the battle. That's just what it is."
Sharp has made the walk as player, coach and administrator, while his counterpart, Henderson Athletic Director Shawn Jones is only eight years in as the Reddies top athletic administrator.
Jones talks like he's been doing it for decades.
"We leave out of our facility and our band is lining the street," Jones said. "And the fans, the parents, the cheerleaders, the pom squad. There's high-fives and they're playing that Old Reddie Spirit.
"It's loud and exciting as you're walking down the street on campus. Then you take a left on M.H. Russell. ... and it's quiet. It's the clickety clack of the cleats. And the focus. Then you cross the highway.
"And then you start to hear the boos. And it's amazing you can experience that ... that quickly. And that's what makes it so unique and special."
Maxfield and Knight both said the adrenaline rush the teams get from the pregame walk can almost cancel out the home-field advantage.
"It's a wash," Knight said.
"It's not like we're getting on a bus and driving six hours," Maxfield said. "I think there is something to walking across there that gets your adrenaline going. It's a really special experience for kids."
Maxfield said he doesn't look forward to the walk as much as he once did.
"Since I've got an artificial knee and a fused-together ankle, I don't look forward to walking really a lot of places," he said. "I'll suck it up. I'll make it."