Following two tough weeks of play, the Bears will take the lessons they've learned against Holmes and Northeast and work to translate them to the conference opener Thursday at home against Pearl River.
Southwest head coach Les George said that it is important for his team to right the ship after a tough 35-21 loss last Thursday against Northeast.
"We just have to clean up the mistakes and finish preparing. Today we have to have a great practice and tomorrow we have to polish up and get these guys ready to play," he said.
In the past, Pearl River has fielded quality teams and George said that this year is no different.
"They've done it again," he said. "They have a defense that, you know, they are going to do what they do. They are going to play a lot of man, they are going to play really hard up front. Offensively, they run spread but they do a lot of good things in the run game as well."
The Wildcats are led by quarterback Reese Mooney, who is second in the MACCC in passing with 545 yards and is tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with five.
Hoping to slow down the Wildcat attack is a defense led by linebacker BJ Mitchell, who has led the team in tackles in both contests thus far, totaling 17.
"He's been playing lights-out," George said. "He's been a really good leader but he's been laying it on the line every week and I'm really glad he's here."
On the other side of the ball, the run game has been efficient for the Bears as five of the seven touchdowns scored have been on the ground, led by three from Chris Hunter.
Like last week, Coach George is calling on all of the Bear fans to show up Thursday and be loud, adding that he was very happy with the crowd that showed up last week.
"It was tremendous," he said. "The energy was very exciting and it was nice to be at home. Everyone was very supportive. I wish we could have won the game for everybody but even after the loss, they continued to be supportive."
The Bears and the Wildcats kick off Thursday at 7 p.m. at John I. Hurst Stadium. For those who can't make it to the game, it will be streamed on BearTV at: https://go.smccbears.tv/.
