fayette — One week after Jefferson County notched its biggest win in the last two seasons, the Tigers will play an even bigger game this Friday.

After defeating defending 3A state champion Franklin County 24-21 last Friday, the Tigers (5-1, 2-1) will head up the road to Tylertown to take on the undefeated and No. 1 ranked Chiefs in a huge Region 7-3A showdown.

“At the beginning of the season, it seemed that beating Franklin County would put us where we want to be,” Jefferson County coach James Herrington said. “But this game Friday night is bigger than the Franklin County game.”

Tylertown (6-0, 3-0) comes into the game with an affinity for winning close games.

Three of the Chiefs’ six wins have come by five points or less, including a 14-12 win over Canton and a 14-13 win over Franklin County when they scored the winning touchdown in the final five seconds.

Tylertown is led by its defense, which has allowed 14 points or fewer in five of the six games.

“They like to blitz a lot,” Herrington said. “They’re not very big but they are very aggressive and quick. It’s going to be quite a challenge for our offense.”

It’s the second straight great defense the Tigers have faced, after playing Franklin County last week.

“Up to this point, Franklin County has the toughest defense we’ve faced all year,” Herrington said. “But we’re going against another tough defense on Friday.”

However, turnovers usually determine who wins a game, and Herrington expects it to be no different on Friday.

“Turnovers has been the big key all season,” Herrington said. “Last week against Franklin County, we had no turnovers. That’s the big stat that stuck out to me as the reason why we won.”

In order to beat the No. 1 team in 3A, Herrington knows his team will have to play their best game of the season.

“Everyone has to play well,” he said. “We need to get big plays out of our offense, defense and special teams. We’re going to have to get a 100 percent team effort in order to get past Tylertown.”