Greenville High School’s showdown with Demopolis High School Friday night is an important one.

Like most coaches, Greenville High School head coach Earnest Hill preaches taking the season one game at a time.

Demopolis is next on the schedule, making Friday’s contest an important one for Greenville.

But that’s not the only reason it’s an important game for the Tigers.

It’s also a Class 5A, Region 3 contest.

Both Greenville and Demopolis own 2-1 marks in the region.

“We need to go to Demopolis and get a region win,” Hill said. “If we can do that, we’ll put ourselves in a good position as far as the playoffs.”

Scoring a win in Demopolis has proven to be a difficult task in recent years.

Since Tom Causey took over the program in 2007, Demopolis has posted a 28-10 record at home.

Greenville senior defensive back Michael Smith said the key for the Tigers making that record 28-11 began just moments after Friday’s loss to Charles Henderson High School.

“It starts with a good week of practice,” Smith said. “We’ve got to have a good week, and we’ve got to bring that into the game. This is a region game, and we need to win it bad.”

Aside from being a region contest, it’s also a rivalry game.

The teams have faced each other annually since 2004 with Demopolis winning six of the nine contests. Demopolis holds an 8-5 advantage in the all-time series.

Hill reminded his team of the rivalry Friday night following the Charles Henderson game.

“This is a big week for us,” Hill said. “This is your rival. We need to go get a win.”

Greenville (2-3, 2-1 Class 5A, Region 3) and Demopolis (4-1, 2-1 Class 5A, Region 3) will face off at 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium in Demopolis.