MEADVILLE — The Franklin County High School Bulldogs will look to pick up their first win of the season Friday night when they play host to the North Pike High School Jaguars in their home opener.

And despite a 33-12 loss at Brookhaven High School in their season opener, Franklin County head coach Anthony Hart said there were a few things that happened that could have, at the very least, made the outcome closer.

“We had a decent night offensively. We had a few calls go against us. We’ve got to tackle better. We missed some plays that could’ve changed the game,” Hart said.

And those things — cutting down on mistakes and tackling — will be among the points of emphasis the Bulldogs will be working on in practice to get ready for the MHSAA Class 4A Jaguars.

“I think we’ll get better each week as we learn more of what we’re doing,” Hart said.

North Pike started its season with a hard-fought 14-6 win over Raymond. Last year, the Jaguars defeated the Bulldogs 34-20.

As far as the injury front is concerned, Hart said that he has had some players who have been out since fall camp began, but would not name names. He added that the majority of those players would not play this Friday night, but they would be returning soon.

Even with the double-digit loss to Brookhaven, Hart said practice for this week’s game had gone real good as of Tuesday afternoon.

“The kids are focused and are practicing well. I’ve been very pleased with them,” Hart said.

Hart said that North Pike presents a challenge to Franklin County on both sides of the ball. And that something he said he’s very familiar with.

“On defense, they run a 4-front. They run a spread gun offense. Their quarterback (Juwan Adams) is a good player. They have a good running back (Colton Magee). When I coached at Lafayette (County), we played them for the (Class 4A) state championship,” Hart said. “They have the same coach, so they’ll be good at what they do.”

As for the Jaguars’ defense, Hart said they have a good defensive line and good linebackers and that’s something the Bulldogs’ offensive line will have to slow down to keep quarterback De’Martre Collins upright and allow the running game to get going.

Kickoff for North Pike against Franklin County at Louie Mullins Memorial Stadium is at 7 p.m.

Tri-County Academy at WCCA

WOODVILLE — As if playing a David King-coached Adams County Christian School team in its season and home opener wasn’t tough enough for Wilkinson County Christian Academy, yet another MAIS Class AA opponent comes to town for Week 2.

The Rams’ opponent at 7 p.m. Friday will be highly-ranked Tri-County Academy, who are favored over WCCA in the matchup.

The Rebels defeated St. Andrews Episcopal 27-7 in their season opener last Friday night, so Tri-County enters the contest with momentum.

The good news for WCCA is that they got out of last week’s game against ACCS injury-free and enter Friday night’s contest with a clean bill of health.

Head coach Kyle White said everyone should 100 percent for Friday night’s game against the Rebels.

White said the rain that hit the area Monday afternoon did not help and that it forced the Rams indoors to do their conditioning drills. Otherwise, it was what he called their typical Monday.

“We watched a bunch of film on Tri-County,” White said. “They’re solid and they do a lot of things very well. That’s the difference between them and us.”

He added that the team’s intensity in practice Tuesday and Wednesday would tell if the Rams are ready for the Rebels from Flora.

WCCA will more than likely have to play a mistake-free game if the Rams are to have any chance of pulling off waht would be an upset.

The Rams ran the ball well against ACCS, but quarterback Justin Prevost threw two interceptions and had just one completion.

WCCA will have to me more efficient throwing the ball against Tri-County, which may be easier said than done considering what kind of defense Tri-County likes to run.

“Defense, they’re a base-40 or a base-50, depending on the yardage,” White said. “They like to blitz a lot, and they’re heavy on bringing the house. That’s something we’ve got to handle and account for.”

In last year’s 38-14 win over WCCA, then-junior running back Ryan Cothern accounted for three total touchdowns.

That’s something the Rams cannot let happen if they are to stay in the game against the Rebels.

“Offensively, they rely heavily on the offensive line. Just the standard from the last two times we’ve played them,” White said. “(Cothern) runs the ball hard and he runs the ball downhill.”

Other players the Rams will have to key on are seniors Colby Tacker and Hayes Shepherd.

“Colby plays fullback and linebacker. When I see him on film, he looks like a football player,” White said. “Hayes plays outside linebacker and will run the ball a little bit. If we can stop the blitz and, obviously, contain Cothern, we’ve got a chance to do something.”

White added that his defense has got to do a much better job of tackling.

He gave ACCS’s offense a lot of credit for playing well in space, which led to a lot of attempted arm tackles and several missed tackles.

“It was kind of disgusting. Just a lack of form tackling. With our numbers, we haven’t been able to simulate that in space,” White said. “We have to be in the right position. We really have to focus on staying in our coverages and staying in our zones.”

If not, it will be yet another long night for the Rams’ defense.