McKenzie’s season came to an early end against McIntosh in the first round of the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean the season wasn’t a success for head coach Miles Brown.

The 2007 season was filled with injuries for the Tigers, which led to many younger players seeing some playing time.

With the departure of last year’s seniors, it was these younger players who had to step into the spotlight.

“This season actually went a little better than I expected,” Brown said. “I think Coach Powell said it best when he said after the last game that we won games we shouldn’t have won.”

“We found ways to do it, and that’s a true testament to the character of these kids,” he added.

McKenzie finished the season with a 9-2 record, which is a big improvement from 6-4 last season and also their best record since finishing 12-1 in 2002.

Besides the record, Brown said there are a number of other season achievements he’s proud of.

“We made it to the playoffs, we beat Georgiana, and we renewed a rivalry with Excel,” he said. “There are also a couple of teams like Ariton and Florala that we beat for the first time in region play. We had some great accomplishments.”

The Tigers are only losing four seniors this year — Chas Windham, Antonio Lett, Tyler Bush and Zack Chesser — so the bulk of the team should return next season.

“We’ve just got to get back in the weight room and get everyone stronger and faster,” Brown said.