It’s been 18 years since the Greenville Advocate faced off with the Sylacauga Aggies.

In 1998, the Aggies bested the Tigers 10-0 in the second round of the playoffs.

This time, the no. 1 Tigers face a no. 4 Aggies team that is solid up front on both sides of the ball.  They’re also a team that has no problem moving the ball on the ground, and they have a talented quarterback at the helm of the offense.

But for Greenville head football coach Patrick Plott, their greatest strength lies in what they don’t do—make mistakes.

The biggest question he posed his players this week is simple—how do you beat a team that won’t beat themselves?

“They’re a very sound football team, and we’ve just got to go out and play sound and not make any mistakes ourselves,” Plott said.

Plott was disappointed in an earlier match against Rehobeth on the road two weeks ago, in which the Tigers walked away with what Plott considered a sloppy win.

But a good week of practice thus far would indicate that the Tigers have learned from their past mistakes.

“I feel like our guys are focused and, at this time of the year, you have to be focused in order to win,” Plott said.

In addition to a renewed sense of focus, the Tigers offense will be granted another boon in the return of senior running back Alyric Posey.

Other injured Tigers remain on the sideline, but Plott said that Posey’s return will be huge for Greenville.

“Right now, we’re still holding out on a chance that Skilar Moorer will be able to come back—he’s going back to the doctor next week,” Plott added.

“But I definitely think Alyric will help us with our running game, and we look forward to having him back.”

As region champs, the Tigers enter the postseason as the no. 1 seed with home field advantage and a matchup against a fourth seed opponent.

Plott said that playing in front of a crowd of familiar faces would be a huge plus.  But the latter—a fourth-seed opponent, isn’t much of a benefit at all.

“We’ve been getting big support from the community, the administration and the City all year, and I really appreciate those guys for the support they’ve given us, and I’m glad we can play at home in front of them for this first playoff game,” Plott said.

“But when you’re in the playoffs, you can throw all the records out of the door.  Every team in the playoffs is in the playoffs for a reason.  Anybody can be beaten on any Friday night.  Our focus is just to go out and play our best game and have fun.”