WOODVILLE &8212; Chris Gann didn&8217;t need long to figure out what this week means to WCCA and its group of seniors.

It&8217;s playoff time, and the Rams are 0-3 in the last three seasons. When they host Glenbrook to open the Class A playoffs Friday night, it&8217;s another shot at finally getting the monkey off their backs and getting past the first round of the playoffs.

The Apaches will present a formidable challenge, but the seniors want it perhaps in the worst way.

&8220;I&8217;m pretty hungry,&8221; said Gann, a senior transfer out of Mount Juliet, Tenn. &8220;It&8217;s my first year, and I want to win this year bad. I want to be on the team that gets past the first round playoff team. That&8217;s one thing we want to commit to &8212; getting past the first round.&8221;

It&8217;s been a nemesis for the Rams, who nearly did the job last season before coming up short to Tensas Academy at home in a 13-7 defeat. In 2003, it was a loss at Tallulah Academy. In 2002, it was a loss at Glenbrook.

&8220;Every year we&8217;ve been prepared,&8221; WCCA head coach Paul Hayles said. &8220;We&8217;ve gone in with a solid work ethic. We start way back in the spring. Unfortunately, we&8217;ve hadn&8217;t been able to achieve our goals. The biggest thing is you&8217;ve got to play mistake-free football and perform. Last year was a heartbreaker. These kids back form last year remember how that felt.&8221;

This time, however, the task at hand will be to perform against a Glenbrook team that will bring the spread offense, something the Rams haven&8217;t seen much of the entire season. The Apaches came up in second in District 5-A behind a solid Claiborne Academy team but finished with a 6-4 mark with other losses to Riverfield, River Oaks and Central Hinds.

The Apaches under head coach Jerry Almond will run an offense that&8217;s similar to the Evangel offense, Hayles said, with Jared Mourad at quarterback.

&8220;We&8217;re preparing for the aerial attack, not that they don&8217;t have good running backs to go with them,&8221; Hayles said. &8220;That&8217;s something we haven&8217;t seen to that degree. At times, it looks sharp. Down there, it&8217;s almost to a point of perfection. (Mourad) is a talented kid. He reminds me a whole lot of the (Price) Sessums kids from Brookhaven, but he&8217;s a little bit taller than Sessums.&8221;

Then there are the internal things to address this week. Hayles grieved over the amount of rags thrown against his club last week in the season finale at Tallulah &8212; 11 either false start or illegal motion violations &8212; that they were able to dodge to pull out the win.

Part of the problem was just timing. The team made a switch recently with Hunter Holden and Robby Arnold rotating at center in the first season after the departure of three-year starter Clay Bryant, who is now at Belhaven.

&8220;We killed ourselves with penalties,&8221; Hayles said. &8220;We go to Tallulah and have 11 penalties. That&8217;s inexcusable. We worked on correcting that in practice and will continue to do that today.&8221;

The Rams need that to get their running game going with Gann and Eli Ashley in the backfield along with Sean Venezia. Especially with Gann, who returned from mono three weeks ago and hasn&8217;t slowed down much since.

Gann missed the Rams&8217; game against Adams Christian but returned against Amite and put up 200 yards against the Rebels.

&8220;Ever since I came back from that mono, I&8217;ve been ready to play football,&8221; said Gann, who also starts at middle linebacker. &8220;I told coach the following Friday I came back to give me the ball, and he did. Since then I&8217;ve told him to give me the ball, give me the ball.&8221;

The Rams&8217; power game will match up against a Glenbrook defense that has given up points at times this season. The biggest threat will be the defensive line, and they hope to match up well in some areas.