Demopolis eyes region title Friday

Demopolis will look to capture the Class 5A, Region 4 championship Friday night when it takes to the field against Wilcox Central. The win would represent the first region title for Demopolis since 2010.

“That’s one of our goals we set for our team every year,” Demopolis coach Tom Causey said. “We’ve only accomplished that one time. That could be a big step for us.”

While the region championship is an accomplishment for the Tigers, Causey noted that the biggest aspect of the accolade is that it guarantees a first round playoff game at home with the strong possibility of a second round game at home.

“It’s big to be able to play that first round game at home for sure,” Causey said. “That’s something everybody is working for.”

In order to capture that championship this week, the Tigers will have to stay unbeaten in region play against an 0-7 Jaguar team that has managed just 40 points all season.

But Causey is unconcerned with his team’s opponent Friday night; he continues to measure his squad against itself on a daily basis.

That focus and the accompanying attitude has played a role in the Tigers’ six-game win streak. Since that season-opening loss to Thomasville, Demopolis has reeled off 1,991 yards rushing. That feat is due in no small part to continuously improving offensive line play.

“They play hard,” Causey said of his team’s offensive linemen. “They’re really smart about what they do. They’re putting their hats where they’re supposed to be and they’re playing really, really hard.”

As Causey measures his team’s performance this Friday against its performance from last Friday, he will look for improvements in certain key areas with the playoffs looming.

“Obviously turnovers,” he said. “I thought we did a better job of penalties last week. I thought we played a pretty clean game until the third quarter. And we’ve got to do a better job of getting off the field on third down.”

The Tigers and Jaguars are set for a 7 p.m. kick Friday at Demopolis High School. DHS will observe Homecoming during halftime of the game.