The road to the playoffs is fraught with peril for the Greenville Tigers.  Amid the distractions of homecoming, the team looks to break even in region play against the 1-5 Headland Rams.

The Tigers enter homecoming on the heels of consecutive losses to powerhouse opponents Wetumpka and Eufaula, a duo that appears—at least on paper—stronger opposition than Headland.

But Greenville head football coach Josh McLendon said that the Tigers are in the midst of a series of one-week seasons, and that that mentality wouldn’t do anyone in black and gold any good Friday night.

“We’re not good enough to overlook anybody,” McLendon said. “And if that’s the mindset, it’s totally wrong.

“This is key for us to get into the playoffs, so we’re approaching it just like we have every other region game—it’s a must-win.  We just have to worry about ourselves and make sure that we’re doing what we’re supposed to do on both sides of the ball.”

McLendon said that the Tigers’ troubles as of late stem from the team’s inability to put together a cohesive performance in all three phases of the game.  It was the Tiger defense that was tested the most Friday night against a Eufaula offense that dominated the time of possession.

“We just couldn’t get them off the field on third down,” McLendon said.

“They chewed up a lot of clock and they were able to keep the ball, and we just weren’t able to get a whole lot going offensively to counter what they were doing. And before we looked up, it was 34-6 at halftime.”

One of the focal points for this week’s practice is the elimination of problem areas and self-inflicted wounds, including costly turnovers and penalties.

Once the Tigers have prepared for themselves, then, McLendon said, they can move on to the Rams.

“We just haven’t put a complete game together,” he said. “Some games we’ve done well on offense and bad on defense, and other games we’ve done bad on offense and well on defense. 

“We still haven’t played our best football—I really believe that.  And we’ve just got to keep chomping away, and something good will happen.”

The Tigers host the Rams for homecoming Friday.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.