Last week, the McKenzie Tigers defeated the Florala Wildcats, a team McKenzie hadn’t beaten since the two squads started competing in the same region.

This week, the Tigers are looking to break another such streak against Ariton.

“Ariton has a good football team,” said head coach Miles Brown. “Two of their top players are Craig Sanders and Ty Tyler.”

Sanders and Tyler will be seen all over the field on both sides of the ball.

“Sanders lines up at defensive end, outside linebacker, tight end and running back,” Brown said. “Tyler plays inside linebacker, fullback and tailback. Both of those guys move around quite a bit.”

To stop Ariton, Brown said the Tigers will have to play assignment football.

“We’re also going to have to have good fundamentals on both sides of the ball,” he said.

Besides the drought during region play against Ariton, the Tigers have another source of motivation – the 57-6 loss the Purple Cats delivered to McKenzie on the Tigers’ homecoming last year.

“The kids that played vividly remember how it felt to get thumped like that,” Brown said.

Even though it’s early in the season, the Tigers are still looking for every region win they can pull out, especially one that would give momentum like a win over Ariton.

“We know how important this game is Friday night for our football team this year,” Brown said. “I know gas prices are high, but I’d like all the McKenzie fans to travel to Ariton. We need all the fan support we can get.”

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Ariton.