For a good portion of last weekend, I spent time thinking about what this week’s Straughn-Opp football game will mean as far as the playoffs are concerned.

Tomorrow night, the Tigers and Bobcats will square off in a key region and rivalry contest at Tigers Stadium for the No. 2 seed coming out of Class 3A, Region 1 and bragging rights.

Straughn clinched a playoff berth when it beat Bayside Academy 40-22 on week six. Opp clinched last week after a thrilling 27-24 victory over W.S. Neal.

Two weeks ago, after SHS had beaten Excel 26-13, I thought (and wrote) that the Tigers secured the No. 2 seed going into the playoffs.

Last week downed that claim because of Straughn’s 42-7 loss to T.R. Miller and Opp’s win over the Eagles.

So, that just makes this week’s game more important than ever.

If Straughn were to win, the Tigers will solidify the No. 2 seed going into the postseason.

If Opp were to win, then the Bobcats would have to beat Pike County next week in order to have a better regular-season winning percentage over SHS, according to Alabama High School Athletic Association rule “N” in the fall sports handbook.

Or at least that’s what rule that’s been pointed out to me as being the one that matters.

But what really matters, and all players and coaches will tell you this, is what happens in between the sidelines on Friday night.

And, from what I’ve learned, the weather is supposed to be perfect for the game.

According to the National Weather Service out of Mobile, the low for Friday night is going down to 37 degrees.

So, the weather’s going to be perfect for football and two teams will be going head to head in a key region match up for some playoff marbles.

What could be better than that?