MEADVILLE — Franklin County is 0-2 so far this season, but Bulldogs head coach Trent Hammond said his team is just a few tweaks away from being where he wants them to be.

“We’ve had a good week in practice,” Hammond said. “They’ve been really attentive and focused, so it’s always a positive when you have kids that come to work. We haven’t had the best start, but you couldn’t tell if you came to practice and watched them.”

Franklin County lost to Brookhaven 26-18 last Friday, a game Hammond said he was able to take a lot of positives from.

“We were a lot crisper on offense,” Hammond said. “They eliminated the pre-snap penalties problem we had the first game, and we were able to move the football.

“Our defense played better, too. If we wrapped up on some guys two or three times, we probably win the game.”

Still, Hammond also said there were some things his team needs to fix if they want to get their first win in 2009.

“We have got to pass block better,” Hammond said. “We’re just 1-for-11 in passing with two interceptions and four sacks.”

On defense, Hammond said the key is improved technique in tackling.

“We have to stop big plays from happening,” Hammond said. “When you give up a big play, if five people touch the guy and he still gets away, the big play doesn’t happen if you tackle better.”

The Bulldogs are set to host McComb High School Friday for their first home game of the season.

“It’s always good to play in front of your home crowd,” Hammond said, “but in truth, a ball game’s a ball game and we just have to line up and take care of business.”

Taking care of business will mean the Bulldogs defense will have make sure they stick to their assignments, as McComb’s offense will not allow for mental errors.

“Their offense is a little different than what we’d normally see,” Hammond said. “It looks kind of like a spread Notre Dame Box offense.”

Hammond is also weary of the team speed that McComb brings to the table.

“They’re the fastest football team in the state of Mississippi,” Hammond said. “They have all those kids that ran 4.3 (forty times) at camp. They’re aggressive on defense. They fly around and play with organized chaos.”

With such a daunting task ahead of them, Hammond stressed that the Bulldogs cannot afford to make mistakes Friday.

“We have to hold onto the football and stay on our blocks,” Hammond said.