The Red Level Tigers (3-5, 2-3) may have seen their playoff hopes dashed after falling to Kinston 32-14 Friday night in Kinston.

The loss doesn’t actually knock the Tigers out of the playoffs, but they must now defeat Georgiana next week in order to secure a playoff spot.

Red Level kept the game close for most of the game, and only trailed 14-0 after the first quarter.

“We came out and played very flat,” Tigers’ head coach James Wise said. “I think it has just been so long since Red Level has had any playoff relevance, that we came out a played a little jittery.”

Wise said that he did get good games out of John Lee, Wesley Holley and a few other guys.

“We had several guys that played well tonight,” Wise said. “We just had some mistakes and fell apart there at the end. We just made too many mistakes tonight to overcome a team like Kinston.”

With just about five minutes left in the third quarter, the Bulldogs held a slim 14-8 lead and that is when the wheels fell off for Red Level.

“We are down 14-8, and then we fumble the ball inside our own 5-yard line where they recovered it,” Wise said. “Our defense actually held until fourth down before they scored.”

Following the Kinston touchdown, the Tigers began to drive down the field, but a costly interception that the Bulldogs returned for a score, left Red Level in a hole.

“We kept it close for most of the game, but we just came apart towards the end,” Wise said. “We made a lot of mistakes that we couldn’t overcome. It was a good game until the fourth.”

Lee scored both the Tigers’ touchdowns with a 5-yard run and a 60-yard run.

Holley added a two-point conversion off a pass from Dylan Jordan.

Jordan had just over 100 yards passing on the night, and Jeffery Perdue and Hunter Carpenter each had 50 yards receiving, Wise said.

The Tigers will have a battle on their hands next week when Class 1A, Region 2’s top seeded Georgiana Panthers come to town. The Tigers must win in order to earn a playoff berth.

“Georgiana is a fast and physical team,” Wise said. “We are going to have to come out and play with a lot of heart. We just need to come out and not shoot ourselves in the foot and just see what happens.”