The Pike County Bulldogs have no time to catch their breath. After a hard-fought win over a 5-1 Dale County team last week, the battle-tested Bulldogs will test their merit against the AHSAA Class 3A, Region 2 leaders in Daleville on the road tomorrow.

“They (Daleville) are undefeated in the region and they have a lot of athletes and older guys with experience,” PCHS head coach Brad Waggoner said. “Tevin Flowers is their starter at quarterback and he is a great athlete who can run and throw well.”

Waggoner said Flowers, the Warhawks senior signal caller, has two threats to throw to as well in wide receivers William Knight, senior, and sophomore Christopher Stone.

Waggoner has a prediction for this game.

“The winner of this game will have the best shot at winning the region this year,” he said.

With Daleville (6-1) sitting atop the region with a 5-0 region record and Pike County (4-3) and Slocumb (5-2) close behind at 4-1, there is a possibility for a three-way tie at the top when the regular season is over. If Pike County beats Daleville, Slocumb beats Abbeville and all three teams win their final region game in week nine there will be three teams with a 6-1 record. There would be no easy fix, as Pike County would have defeated Daleville, Slocumb beat Pike County and Daleville beat Slocumb.

It will be one giant mess, but Waggoner said the important part would play out Friday.

“This game Friday is the only one that matters right now for us,” he said. “We need to win this game to have a chance to win the region. If Daleville wins then they are the region champs outright. And for that reason I know they will be fired up for this game.”

Waggoner said his team would have to play another mistake-free game like they did last week against Dale County in a 14-6 home victory.

“This game will be a tough test for us and it will really show us where we are as a team,” Waggoner said. “The kids have really bounced back after that loss to Goshen and they have responded and come together as a team. We have worked hard the last two weeks to get where we are. There is no question we are a better football team than we were during week one.”

And that is exactly what Waggoner has been preaching to his team all season.

“There is no question we have made major improvements throughout the year,” Waggoner said. “And I have been telling them every week that they need to be better this week than they were last week and they have caught on to that philosophy.”

The Bulldogs head into Friday night’s contest fully healthy and ready to keep their chances for a region title alive.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Warhawk Stadium in Daleville.