After wrapping up practice at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Monday evening, Charles Henderson coach Mike Dean said he cared about just one thing this week: being 1-0 on Friday night.

The Charles Henderson Trojans are in the third round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs for just the third time in school history. The Trojans have made the state playoffs 18 times in the past, but made it past the second round just twice before, in 1980 and 2007.

The 2007 team fell in the third round to St. Paul’s, while the 1980 squad captured the school’s only state championship.

Dean feels that his team can add another to the trophy case.

“I think we are better than Dora,” said Dean. “If we don’t think that, we are already beat. We have to keep our confidence up, and go play football like I know we can.”

The Trojans will keep things “business as usual” this week in order to keep the schedule as much as they possibly can.

Dean, a stickler for keeping routine, said the team will practice in the morning on Wednesday and Thursday as if it were any another week.

“We are going to keep the same routine,” said Dean. “We are not going to change things up one bit. We have practiced on Wednesday and Thursday mornings all year, and we are going to keep doing it. Playoffs and holidays don’t matter right now.”

The Trojans are planning on using the same formula in the coming days that they have used in the past few weeks.

“We are keep doing what we do,” Dean said. “If you start changing what you are doing now, the kids will stop believing in themselves. This is just another week, and we have to work on us.”

Dean said the team is excited about playing in the third round, but did say that the team is playing for itself and not listening to outside opinions or “continuing disrespect.”

“We had a $7,000 gate last week,” Dean said. “That says it all. We have to worry about us, worry about Charles Henderson and not listen to all the outside interferences. We are a good football team, we know that.”

Charles Henderson will play Dora in the third round of the AHSAA playoffs on Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy.