Greenville head football coach Patrick Plott’s usually stoic demeanor was nowhere to be seen Friday night as the Tigers steamrolled to victory over the Booker T. Washington Golden Eagles.

“They came out and played the way I expected them to,” Plott said.

“We played well from the start and we put it away early.”

But Plott has his game face back on for this week as Greenville prepares for the Charles Henderson Trojans, a talented team with a  chip on their shoulders in the wake of last season’s near-perfect run.

The Trojans barreled through the opposition unimpeded last year in search of championship glory, falling just short of their goal to Oneota in the final round.

No secret to championship-caliber teams, Plott’s main goal at practice this week is discovering just what it’s going to take to come out on top of a Trojans team that is significantly tougher than their previous opponent.

“We’ve got to raise our game to a championship level to be able to face those guys,” Plott said.

“Those guys are coming off a state championship run last year and got beat in the championship game, so I’m sure they do have a chip on their shoulder to try to get back to the championship game this year.  We’ve got to play at that championship-type level to have a chance to win.”

But playing to the best of their ability is only one piece of the puzzle for the Tigers’ success Friday.

They still have to contend with a high-powered offense capable of moving the ball on the ground and in the air with an equal lack of effort.

“The key for us to win the ball game is to be able to put some points on the board and to keep our defense off the field,” Plott added.

“We’ll definitely have to keep their offense off the field and keep our defense rested.”

In a sense, Plott is happy with the early face-off with a tough team, if only to see how far his team has come.

“I definitely think it’s a good thing,” Plott said.

“We’ll find out Friday night where we’re at up until this point.  If we can get over there and get a win, it’ll be a big boost for us.”