McKenzie managed to pull out last Friday’s nail-biting win over Excel in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers are looking for another tough battle this week.

The Tigers open region play this Friday at Williams-Vickery Field against the Florala Wildcats.

Florala had an open date last week, so this will be the first test of the season for them.

“They’ve had two weeks to prepare for us,” said head coach Miles Brown. “They’ve got a new head coach, Stan Gooden, from Andalusia. He’s used to winning, so they’ll be fired up and ready to play.”

With a 1-0 record in the region on the line, Brown said he’s using a number of different things for inspiration.

One source is the 39-30 loss the Tigers had last year against Florala.

That loss came in the next-to-last game of the season, and McKenzie was fighting injuries.

“Since McKenzie has started in region play with Florala, we’ve never beaten them,” Brown said. “Last year was the closest we’ve come, and that’s another thing we’ve talked about as a team.”

The Tigers also can’t dwell on last week’s victory over Excel.

“We’ve got to stay focused on what’s going on, especially with Florala coming up,” he said. “We’re just getting ready for this big region game.”