Wildcats prepare for home finale
By Staff
Scot Beard
THARPTOWN – When Tharptown takes the field against Shoals Christian Friday night, many of the players will feel like they are looking in the mirror.
The Wildcats should recognize anything the Flame tries to do on offense or defense.
"They're similar to us in what they do," said Tharptown coach Clint Nunley. "They're line is similar, they have the same formations and they play the same defense."
That type of familiarity could benefit the Wildcats as they continue the fight to claim the first playoff berth in school history.
Tharptown is trying to take advantage of being in a region that shrank due to consolidation. The team has already played three of its five region games.
The Wildcats are 1-3 overall and 1-2 in region play. A loss to Shoals Christian will probably mean the Wildcats will miss the playoffs.
The consolidation has led to another quirk in Tharptown's schedule – this will be the Wildcats' last home game of the season.
"That's just kind of the way it worked out," Nunley said.
Tharptown was originally scheduled to host Shoals Christian in Week 7, but when three teams were eliminated from the region, the schedule changed.
The Wildcats were forced to play a few region opponents twice. Alabama High School Athletic Association rules say that when two teams from the same region play more than once in a season, the first game is the one that counts in the region standings.
With Tharptown and Shoals Christian both seeking games to fill out the schedule they decided to play twice.
They kept the original Week 7 game, but shifted the location to Shoals Christian so Tharptown could retain the home-field advantage they were supposed to have in the region game.
The Wildcats won their last region game, a Week 3 match up against Waterloo. Nunley is hoping that win will boost confidence for this game, but he said he is not changing his team's preparations for the game against Shoals Christian.
"We don't do anything special for anybody," Nunley said. "I hope (the players) are fired up because there are playoff implications. They have a good attitude."
Nunley said there are several areas where the Wildcats have improved since the start of the season. He likes the way the offensive and defensive lines are playing.
He also likes the way the team has cut down on mistakes.
"We've cut out the turnovers and the costly penalties," Nunley said.
The game will begin at 7 p.m.
