The McKenzie Tigers’ season was going well until last Friday night, when they ran into perennial powerhouse Brantley.

The Bulldogs jumped on McKenzie early and didn’t let up.

Head coach Miles Brown said he’s to blame for the Tigers’ performance last week.

“We just didn’t play any good football,” Brown said. “I’ll take that one. I didn’t do a good job preparing the team to play.”

Attitude will play a part in this Friday night’s game against Kinston, and Brown said he expects the players to be a little blue following the loss.

“Normally kids are down after a loss like that,” he said. “But the bottom line is that you’ve got to put that one behind you and keep moving ahead.”

Brown said the Tigers have to keep focused on the game ahead.

“We’ve got three more regular season games then the playoffs,” Brown said.

This week the Tigers get to face the Kinston Bulldogs, who are winless on the season.

“They’ve had their ups and downs this season, but they’ve played really well at times,” Brown said. “The bottom line is that they’ll be ready to play us, and it’s a region game.”

Fundamentals will be a key part of this Friday night’s game because Brown said they were lacking against Brantley.

“We’re going to spend this week getting back to basics, especially on tackling, because we didn’t do a good job of that Friday night,” he said.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Kinston.