Tigers need to win next 2 games to have postseason chance

Red Level received a needed day of rest and relaxation Monday to get ready for this week’s region battle against the Kinston Bulldogs on Friday night.

The Tigers, along with Florala and KHS, are all tied at 1-3 in Class 1A, Region 2. These next two weeks for RLS are crucial if it wants to nab a playoff berth.

“It’s going to require us to win both,” Tigers head football coach David Godwin said. “We’re focusing on Kinston. It’s senior night for us and will be our last home game.”

KHS (4-3, 1-3) has a lot of size and is physical, Godwin said.

“They remind me a lot of Florala,” he said. “They’re going to be a challenge. We’ll have to make sure we’re sound alignment wise in all of the formations they’re going to give us.”

Bulldogs’ Christopher Hatten and Ashley Kelley are their main threats.

“(Kelley) got deceptive quickness,” Godwin said. “He manages all of their plays and is a former receiver.”

Defensively, KHS will run out of a 3-3 stack, the coach said.

“They don’t give up a lot of points,” Godwin said. “That’s kind of a microcosm of what they do offensively and also being a good defensive ball club. They control the ball and clock, and limit the number of possessions. They take a bend, but don’t break mentality.”

Godwin added that fans will see two “very similar” teams playing each other at Bobby Dye Stadium.

Last week, the Tigers dispatched Pleasant Home 42-20 at home. The win — Red Level’s second of the season — came at the right time.

Godwin said the team really has done well these last three weeks.

“We went to McKenzie (Oct. 3) and the score there didn’t really give you an idea of how that game really went,” he said. “It was nip and tuck, and back and forth. There aren’t many times you can play McKenzie for four quarters. We made them do that. We played very well that game.”

Godwin went on to say that he thinks the Tigers are playing their “best football, which is what you want to be doing at this time.”

“We’ve ben putting together 12 good quarters,” he said. “We’ve got to continue to improve on that. If we play with that effort like we did in those last three games, then I like my bunch (to make it to the postseason).”

Kick off Friday night is at 7.