WOODVILLE — For Wilkinson County and Franklin County, this Friday’s game is sort of like the start of a new season.

Both teams kick off Region 7-3A play this week when the Wildcats (3-2) host the Bulldogs (4-2) for a 7:30 p.m. matchup.

“This is, as some people like to think, the start of a new season,” Wilkinson County head coach Kenneth Brown said.

“We’d love to open up with a win to start the divisional season, so it’s a very important game for us, and I’m sure it is for them as well.”

Since playoff seedings are determined by a team’s divisional record, Brown said the stakes have gotten much higher.

“As far as getting into the playoffs, everything starts right now,” Brown said. “That’s not to show disrespect to those other teams, because they were hopefully just as important trying to get us ready for this.”

Franklin County head coach Rickey O’Quinn said he’s been preaching to his players the importance of competing week in and week out.

“The games mean a lot more,” O’Quinn said. “Not saying the games before didn’t matter, but the kids want to win a championship this year, and in order to achieve that goal, they have to come out and get the job done.”

Brown said his team expects the Bulldogs to run quite a bit, but that isn’t the only thing the Bulldogs are capable of.

“They’re going to run the ball more than anything, but they will throw it,” Brown said. “We can’t go to sleep thinking they’re just going to run.”

The key to attacking the Bulldogs’ running attack, Brown said, is for the players to make sure they stick to their assignments.

“Just do what the coaches teach you to do all week,” Brown said. “We don’t want to get caught out of position and overrun plays so they can come back with counters and stuff like that.”

O’Quinn said he thinks Wilkinson County looks to play a physical brand of football.

“They ran well against Ferriday and Baker, and they have a bunch on defense that will come up and hit you,” O’Quinn said.

“I’m pretty sure they’re excited about divisional play, and we have to be able to match their intensity, because I’m sure they’ll be fired up and ready to go.”