It’s back to the basics, Pleasant Home football style.

PHS coach Robert Bradford said Monday this week’s region road game against McKenzie will come down to who can execute the fundamentals better.

“We’ve got to go back, and just work on fundamentals this week,” Bradford said. “I know every coach says that every week, but it really holds true this week. “We’re just going to have to improve as a team from top to bottom to be able to compete with them,” he said. “We’re going to have to tackle well, block well, and whenever Pleasant Home plays a fast team like (McKenzie), that’s usually what it comes down to — is can we tackle. We’re really going to work hard on that this week.”

The Eagles (1-0) are coming off a 21-0 season-opening win against Zion Chapel, where both Pleasant Home’s passing and running games were the driving force of the win.

Pleasant Home’s Frank Senn rushed 88 yards on 22 carries. In passing, the Eagles were 6-for-12 for 117 yards.

This week, the Eagles will face a Tigers (1-0) team with Southern Mississippi signee and all-position player Emmanuel Johnson; junior quarterback Sir Wallace Presley; and senior offensive and defensive lineman Jody Halford.

In addition, the Tigers beat Autaugaville 31-14, coming from behind 14-0 in last week’s season opener. McKenzie’s record last season was 10-2 after finishing in the second round of the playoffs.

“They’re just as about as good as they were last year,” Bradford said. “They’re really big up front, and they’ve got a great combination of big linemen and fast skill kids, which normally equals a pretty good recipe for success.”

Bradford said the “keys” in Friday night’s game are for his defense to have good technique against a fast Tigers team.

“The big key to defense this week is really being where you’re supposed to be and taking proper angles to the ball carrier — I mean we’ve just got to be perfect on defense,” he said. “If we’re not perfect on defense, then that’s going to be really bad for us. For us to be able to stop them any, then we’re going to have to play perfect technique on defense.”

In addition, Bradford said this week’s game will be a “fun” one for his players.

“It’s going to be a fun week for them because they love playing against McKenzie. — just because they know a lot of the kids there,” Bradford said. “We get to play each other. We’re kind put in a great situation. It’s a win-win situation either way. “We’re going in this game with nothing to lose,” he said. “Everybody’s expecting McKenzie to really run away with it, so all we’ve got to do is show up and play, and that meets everyone’s expectations in everything we can do. The kids will come out lose and ready to play this week, and our kids will play hard and then, we’ll let those chips fall where they may.”

Kickoff in McKenzie is at 7 p.m.