Tigers looking to rebound at Wetumpka
Published 12:00 am Thursday, September 2, 2004
After a slow start on the road last week the Greenville High School Tigers will look to jumpstart their season in a week two region matchup with Wetumpka.
The Tigers will have to play the role of road warriors again this week as they travel to face the Indians Friday night.
After opening with a 19-7 loss at Daleville Greenville Head Coach Alvin Briggs said his game plan would be simple.
&uot;We’ve just go to get ready to play a good Wetumpka team,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;This is our first region game of the year. It’s really the first round of the playoffs for us.&uot;
The good news from last week’s loss was that it only counts on the overall record. The Tigers can chalk it up as experience and get ready for the games that really count…the region games.
Briggs said the Wetumpka game was tremendously important to the Tigers to get the ball rolling on their way to a playoff spot.
&uot;This is a good chance for us to get that first win,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;The last thing we want to do is dig a hole early.&uot;
Briggs said he was not satisfied with a loss last week. On the other hand he did see a lot of positives.
&uot;There were as many positives as negatives,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;There were a lot of positives. We just have to look at those positives and work harder on the negatives.&uot;
Typically, first games are filled with turnovers and penalties. Briggs’ Tigers were able to eliminate turnovers while taking two from the Warhawks.
&uot;We didn’t have any turnovers and we took a couple on defense,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;We had a good game.&uot;
On the other side the Tigers did commit more penalties than they would like to see. The Tigers were hit nine times for 70 yards on the night.
Briggs said the team would address these mistakes and do their best to eliminate them before Friday.
&uot;We have just got to work on our mistakes,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;We’ll work hard to correct those.&uot;
The Tigers will again travel to unfriendly territory as they load up the bus and head to Indians Stadium Friday. Briggs said his team did not dread road games. He said once you get on the field the game was played the same.
&uot;A football field is a football field no matter where you play,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;The dimensions are the same. Road games are just a part of it.&uot;
Briggs said he would like to have all his games in their own backyard, but travel was all part of the season.
&uot;Of course we would like to have all our games at home,&uot; said Briggs. &uot;But that’s just part of it.&uot;
Wetumpka fell to 6-A power Prattville in their season opener.
The Tigers hope to catch the Indians still reeling from their opening loss and take full advantage. On the other hand, the Indians will be hungry for a win to get the taste of the stinging loss out of their mouths. Briggs knows the Tigers will have to be ready for anything.
Kickoff for the game will be 7 p.m. Friday.