"We've bent, but hadn't been broken."

That was the message coach Keith York gave his Panthers Monday afternoon.

Georgiana High is in a period of new life. At the end of Friday's loss to Excel, York and his team thought their season was over and that they would be playing the last two games for pride.

But, after learning that Washington County, this week's opponent had fallen also, the feeling of despair quickly changed.

"This is a tough region, there is going to be some good teams left out," York said.

"There are eight teams. Three are in and three are trying to get in. Excel still has a shot if they beat Southern Choctaw then they are in because they beat us in the head-to-head."

This week, the Panthers will have the chore of stopping Tim Hicks. The senior running back carried Washington County to the second round of the playoffs before running into a red, brick wall.

The Bulldogs lost to Luverne in the second round of the Playoffs 20-0.

"They have a good football team," York said.

"They also have an outstanding running back. He runs hard. I think he was 2A back of the year. I think he had 200 yards against Southern Choctaw so we have got to stop him. We've got to work on pass coverage also."

"Excel runs the wing T and they dealt us some fits with their quarterback waggle. Washington County's a Wing-T team so we've seen it about three times this year. So we've got to work on stopping that waggle pass."

One thing that the Panthers do have in their favor this weekend is that the game will be played in Panther Territory.

Friday night's game will be played in Georgiana and will be the second home game in a row.

"It's great that this game is at home," York said. "We've got it set up where we are at home, playing on our field. After Friday night, we are just excited to have a chance to get in."

Kickoff for Friday's game is set for 7 p.m.