The Pike County Bulldogs lost to Elba to open the season on Friday, but head coach Fred Holland saw enough good things to let him know his team is heading in the right direction.

“I thought we played better,” Holland said. “If you take away some of the mistakes that we made, we played much better than we did last week. We are trying to get better each week, and I think we are doing that. We are trying to cut out the mistakes, and if we do that I think the results will turn out different.”

The Patriots lost 36-22. Key mistakes in the second quarter made the difference between a win and a loss, Holland said.

“I think we failed to finish the second quarter,” Holland said. “We have to learn how to finish quarters and close them out. We need to continue to do the things we did earlier in the game.”

The Bulldogs lost 13 players to graduation last year. Holland believes the inexperience facts into the ability to finish quarters.

“I think the lack of game experience had a lot to do with it,” Holland said. “I think as we continue to play we will get better at it. I think we are coming around, and we are not that far away. We are steadily improving.”

The Tigers also are the defending 2A state champions.

“We went into the game knowing that Elba is a really good team,” Holland said. “They have done a lot in the last few years. I think coach Ed (Rigby) has done a good job at preparing his kids. We felt like it was going to be a tough game, but we still have to execute in certain situations. Our kids are working really hard and I think we will be fine.”

The Bulldogs will open region play this Friday when they welcome B.B. Comer to Bulldogs Stadium. Kick off is scheduled for 7 p.m.