As far as high school basketball rivalries in the state of Washington go, Federal Way-Decatur is right up there with the best.

The matchup has pretty much everything covered. The two schools are separated by just three miles, both seem to always be among the area’s elite, and there always seems to be something big on the line when they play each other.

That will be the case tonight, when the No. 1-ranked Eagles (19-2) take on the second-ranked Gators (18-2) at 8 p.m. at Auburn High School in the South Puget Sound League championship game.

On the surface, it’s a game that doesn’t really mean a whole lot. Both teams will host a first-round game at the West Central Tournament Thursday against an opponent that they “should” beat.

But don’t tell the players, coaches and fans that will pack the gym tonight that it’s just a throwaway.

“It’s always a rivalry game,” said longtime Federal Way head coach Jerome Collins.

This will be the second time the two teams will meet on a neutral court this season. Federal Way downed Decatur, 71-63, at the King Holiday Hoopfest at the University of Washington last month. The Eagles’ constant pressure defense forced the Gators to turn the ball over numerous times, leading to several easy Federal Way baskets.

“The obvious improvement for anyone who saw us play at UW, is to cut back on the 20-plus turnovers we had that game,” Decatur head coach Kevin Olson said. “We shot a great percentage from the floor, but had way too many missed opportunities where we didn’t even get shots. Some of the turnovers were forced by their athleticism and pressure, some were us not showing composure and executing the pass and catch.”

Olson and the rest of the Decatur coaching staff has been working this week on making the “safe” pass.

“Too many times we were trying to make the great play when we didn’t need to,” he said.

“We make some adjustments, depending on the opponent,” Collins said. “But we are going to press and run. That’s how we play. We aren’t going to change or alter things.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Decatur will have to limit the production of the Federal Way duo of Michael Hale and Cole Dickerson. The two combined for 37 points during the Eagle win earlier this year.

Hale, a 5-foot-8 senior who transferred to Federal Way last spring from Decatur, is averaging 14.6 points a game and is the engine that makes the Eagle offense go. Hale is shooting 54 percent from the field, leading the team in steals and averaging close to eight assists a game.

“We need to do a better job of containing Hale,” Olson said. “Keeping him out of the lane, which is easier said than done.”

A lot of Hale’s assists have been going to Dickerson, who is leading Federal Way in scoring at 18.5 a game. The 6-foot-6 junior has scored in double figures in every Eagle game except one ‚Äa regular season loss to Kentwood. During that game, Dickerson was suffering from the stomach flu and tallied only two points.

Decatur will be counting on senior guard Marcus Tibbs to handle the Eagle press and to put the ball in the basket. Tibbs is averaging 16 points a game, six assists, six rebounds and 2.5 steals a game for the Gators. But Tibbs isn’t the only threat on Decatur’s roster. Sophomore Jerron Smith is leading Decatur with 16.4 points a game and 6-foot-5 junior Jordan McCloud is chipping in 13.4 points and 8.6 rebounds.

The winner of tonight’s game will host a first-round West Central District game Thursday night against the SPSL’s 10th seed ‚Äî either Beamer or Auburn Riverside. The loser will host the sixth-place team from the Narrows League Thursday.

“It’s going to be competitive, a dog fight,” Collins said. “But that’s just the West Central District.”

The 16-team district tournament will yield six berths to the Class 4A State Boys Basketball Championships inside the Tacoma Dome. Currently, the district features seven ranked teams and both the Eagles and Gators are hoping to return to the state tournament for the third year in a row. And both return several players from those teams.

“I hope experience is a big factor, since we’ve got two starters who have been in two state tournaments (Tibbs and senior wing Cam Schilling) and the other three (Smith, McCloud and sophomore point Terrell Williams) were there last year,” Olson said. “My younger guys should have no fear as they played key roles at state last year. They all know what to expect and should feel comfortable in postseason games. Hopefully that will allow us to play great basketball the next three weeks.”

Federal Way finished as the state runner-up a season ago after losing to an unbeaten Ferris team in the championship, just a day after beating Decatur in the semifinals.

“I really don’t think we’ve played our best basketball yet, but I like where we are heading,” Olson said.