It hasn’t been an ideal start to the 2015 football season for the Straughn Tigers (0-2), but the Tigers aren’t losing hope and look to rebound on the road against region foe Headland tonight.

“The guys have been outstanding at practice,” Tigers’ head coach Chris Wilson said. “They are wavering a bit. They have played hard each game despite the score. They know as well as we do that if we eliminate turnovers and drive stalling penalties, that these close games can easily go our way.”

Straughn currently holds a 6-3 overall record against Headland, and destroyed the Rams last year 58-15.

Wilson said the Rams are a run-first offense with weapons at the running back and quarterback positions.

“They will come out in spread and two-back gun, but they are a run-first team,” Wilson said. “They have a very good running back and a mobile quarterback that can hurt you with his legs. The quarterback is good at making things happen after the play breaks down. That is something that we have to try and limit.”

Wilson said that the Tigers’ defense has been impressive so far this season.

“The past two weeks our defense has been outstanding,” Wilson said. “They have been put in some terrible situations, but the effort and schemes have been outstanding. Last week, St. James was in the red zone at least five times and they only scored twice.”

When the Tigers go out on offense, Wilson said he expects Headland to come out in a 3-4 defense.

“Their defense is based out of a 3-4,” Wilson said. “They will give us some different looks in the secondary. They have some big guys up front in the middle, and they want to clog the running lanes and force us to the edges.”

As for the Tigers’ offense, Wilson said they will continue to play their style of football, but they must take care of the football.

“We will take what they give us,” Wilson said. “We want to stretch the field out both ways. We have outgained our opponents the past two weeks, but we have come up short on the scoreboard. The biggest thing for us is to not turn the ball over and commit penalties that kill drives. Through the first two weeks, we have eight turnovers. You aren’t going to win many games averaging four turnovers a game. The attitude has been great though, and we are just going to continue to get better each week.”

Kickoff between Straughn and Headland will be at 7 p.m., in Headland.