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Wouldn’t you know it?

Right when Florida’s magic number is trimmed to one — a single win clinches the South Division title, plus home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — along comes Louisville, busing to Southwest Florida for a rematch of last year’s American Conference championship game.

Funny how things work out. While locking up postseason positioning is the prime objective, the Firecats can’t deny that securing payback would ignite them.

“That loss fueled us,” said Florida quarterback Chris Wallace, who was Ken Mastrole’s backup when the Firecats won ArenaCup honors in 2004. “It reminded us of how we felt the year before.”

The Firecats, of course, are focused on the big picture. Picking up a win tonight is important, period. It really doesn’t matter who is on the other sideline.

But Germain Arena will be a little hotter than usual, a melting pot full of bad memories and second chances — to say nothing of the playoff implications that rest on the outcome.

“The ball is in our court if we win,” said Florida coach Kevin Bouis. “We’re shooting for home-field advantage.”

Not that nailing it down would ensure anything. The Firecats had the best record in arenafootball2 last year, but their dreams burned up when the Fire came to town.

Bouis puts much of the blame on himself. After watching Louisville quarterback Matt Sauk throw four touchdown passes in the first two quarters, the Florida coach made adjustments at halftime. He wishes he hadn’t.

With Florida’s defensive backs pressing the Fire receivers, Sauk torched the Firecats for six more scores in the second half. The lead grew out of control — like a blaze — as Louisville celebrated a 70-40 upset to reach the ArenaCup for the first time.

Florida’s season ended.

“He was hot,” Bouis said of Sauk, who threw 23 touchdown passes during last year’s playoffs.

The good news is that Sauk has moved on. He was the backup this spring for the Philadelphia Soul, who lost him when the Grand Rapids Rampage, another Arena Football League franchise, signed the quarterback to a two-year deal in the offseason.

The bad news? Louisville offensive coordinator Adam Shackelford, who groomed Sauk, has replaced af2’s Offensive Player of the Year with an equally potent triggerman. Rookie signal-caller Brett Dietz has the Fire one win shy of clinching a postseason berth, with Louisville (9-5), the East Division leader, still in contention for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The newcomer’s name was everywhere a few weeks ago. Dietz broke af2’s single-game record for touchdown passes in a June 17 win at Albany, completing 12 scoring strikes in the first of the Fire’s five straight wins.

Now he enters the melting pot. Florida (11-3) can wrap up the conference’s top seed in a variety of ways — even a loss tonight wouldn’t knock the team off course — but the Firecats figure this is the perfect time to cement their postseason status.

After all, Louisville’s in town.

“They have our respect,” Florida lineman Comone Fisher said. “We just don’t want history to repeat itself.”

Numbers game:

Three single-season franchise records could fall tonight at Germain Arena, where the Florida Firecats look to clinch the South Division title with a win against Louisville.

Tackles

Defensive specialist Cory Bailey needs three tackles to surpass Quincy Sorrell, who made 100.1 stops for the Firecats in 2004.

Interceptions

Defensive specialist Levy Brown needs one interception to own the record he shares with Roy Stabler, who picked off seven passes in 2002.

Rushing touchdowns

Fullback Clenton Crossley needs two rushing scores to pass Steve Gorrie, who ran for 17 touchdowns in 2004.

(* Bailey, Brown and Crossley are rookies.)

If You Go

Who: Louisville Fire at Florida Firecats

When: Tonight, 7:30

Where: Germain Arena

Radio: WGUF-FM 98.9