On the heels of McKenzie’s 40-12 victory at home over the Red Level Tigers last week, there was one face that was even more disappointed than any on the visiting side—McKenzie head coach Josh McLendon.

In the post-game huddle, he criticized his team for a lackadaisical performance that he perceived as “going through the motions,” despite holding a commanding lead throughout.

But after reviewing the game film, McLendon noted that it wasn’t that bad of a performance after all.

“It just got a little sloppy there at times, but we give a lot of credit to Red Level,” McLendon said.

“They had a good game plan, and we just didn’t have much intensity. But we’ve worked on that, and I think we’ll be ready to go Friday night.”

But this week, the Tigers can’t afford an encore performance as McKenzie braces to face a 4-2 Florala Wildcats team with a deceptive number of strengths.

The Wildcats’ only two losses come at the hands of the Georgiana Panthers and the yet-undefeated Brantley Bulldogs, and the latter contest was the closest shave with defeat the Bulldogs have had since their week-three game with Georgiana.

“They’re very well coached—Coach Rhodes does a good job with them,” McLendon added.

“They’re big up front, they’re good at what they do and they’re going to play hard because they understand that they’re right there in the playoff mix.  It’s a big game for both of us, and we’re excited.”

The Tigers are meanwhile sitting comfortably in control of their own destiny as far as playoff hopes are concerned, as Friday marks an opportunity for McKenzie to take its seventh straight win of the season.

Only one region game remains afterward in the formidable Brantley Bulldogs.

But as far as McLendon is concerned, as long as you make the playoffs, it really doesn’t matter how you get there.

“You’re seeding might play out a little differently, but for the most part, the way I look at it is if you’re good enough to get in there, then anything can happen,” McLendon said.

“Our goal is to make it to the playoffs, and once we get there, we’ll see what we’ve got from there.”