Just last season, McComb suffered a heart-breaking defeat to Lawrence County as the Tigers could not take advantage of a goal-to-go opportunity with under a minute to go.
However this season, McComb is hoping for a more favorable outcome as they will travel to Monticello tonight to face the Cougars in the final road game of the season for the Tigers.
“I had the chance to watch the film, and they made some plays, and they have some tough guys,” McComb head coach Willie Brown said of the Cougars. “We can’t go into the game thinking that they are going to play us the way that they played North Pike. They are just like us and they are trying to position themselves for a playoff run. And also we know that they played for the South State championship last year. It is not going to be a let up or let down, we have to be ready to win that game.”
The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the schedules for many teams across the state and McComb (4-2, 2-1) is no exception. The Tigers were off last week for the second time this season. Coach Brown said that he and his team have taken advantage of the time off even though it has been a challenge.
“It’s been a long week but we have been practicing, I think, really hard,” Brown said. “It’s been a good two weeks.”
The time off has also allowed McComb to heal a bit and nurse some injuries. Brown was elated when he learned that Wiltavious Herbert — who lines up at both linebacker and running back — will make his return.
“We have my linebacker (Herbert) back, and it looks like he will be able to help us on Friday night,” Brown said. “He may run a little bit as well. It is always good to have a guy like that on the football field. He is one of a kind, he’s a good leader and a good football player.”
The Tigers are hoping to take advantage of a Lawrence County (2-4, 1-2) team reeling from two-consecutive losses to Pike County schools South Pike and North Pike, respectively. However, Brown said that the Cougars will be a good test for his team.
“They are going to challenge you, they are going to challenge you to throw the football,” he said. “They are going to play man-to-man and they are actually going to see if you can get some distance between the receiver and the defender and that is going to be a challenge. We are going to see if we can throw the football and if we can get some separation.”
One thing that the Tigers have been working to improve is the way that they finish games.
“We have to learn to play until the final whistle,” Brown said. “We have to understand that good football teams fight against things when they are not going the way that you want them to go. You have to sometimes embrace things that are going to be difficult.”
