The Florala Wildcats (0-3) are looking for improvements as they hit the road for a tough road contest against Class 1A, Region 2 opponent McKenzie Friday in McKenzie.

“They have a very good football team,” Florala head coach Brad Rhodes said of McKenzie. “They have a back that I would say is one of the best in the state. We know that it’s going to be a tough challenge to tackle him.”

Despite the 0-3 start, Rhodes said he has seen some good things from his young Wildcats.

“We are a very young team,” Rhodes said. “I felt like last week was probably the best game that we have played all season. We didn’t finish the game like I wanted, but we have really come a long way. One thing I want to see from them is playing with more passion.”

Rhodes said that last week’s game against Red Level showed what the Wildcats are capable of doing.

“Last week, we were able to run the better than we have been,” Rhodes said. “We were also able to open up the passing game a little more. There are still a lot of things that we have to improve on.”

This week, Rhodes said the key would be tackling.

“We have to tackle better,” Rhodes said. “The key this week will be stopping their running back. They are a running team, and that is what they are going to try to do. On defense, we have to work on getting 11 guys to do their assignments on every play.”

In junior varsity football action, the Wildcats have jumped off to a 2-1 start after defeating Samson 16-8 on Monday night.

“This is a good group of kids that are really playing well right now,” Rhodes said. “They have been strong running and throwing the football. Not only are these kids the future of our program, but a lot of them are helping us out now,”

The Wildcats junior varsity team started the year with a 22-0 victory over Red Level, but fell in overtime to Samson 28-26 in week two. Florala got revenge on Monday night with the 16-8 win over Samson.