The Pike County Bulldogs close out the regular season this evening when they host the second ranked G.W. Long Rebels.

The Bulldogs (8-1, 6-0) have won their last eight games and finished their region schedule undefeated. This evening’s contest will give the Bulldogs an idea of where they stand heading into the playoffs.

“They are a very good football team and a playoff team,” said Bulldogs head coach Fred Holland. “It should give us a very good evaluation of ourselves. We will be able to learn from a team that has played a lot of football games.”

After defeating their last two opponents by a combined score of 88-20 the Bulldogs players seem to be excited to go up against a team that has yet to lose.

“They are very excited and they understand what is at stake,” Holland said. “We would like to stay on the winning side of things. They look at it as being a tough, physical challenge. They look forward to playing them.”

As the playoffs approach, the Bulldogs have gotten back to what has made them so successful over the years. Coach Holland believes his team’s toughness has made a big difference.

“I feel like our conditioning and strength program is something that gives us an added edge,” Holland said. “Our guys work so hard at that. The coaches do a good job at preparing our kids each week about doing their jobs. Those are some of the quality things that allow us to be so successful.”

The Rebels (8-0) defeated Cottonwood a week ago and has the ability to put up points in a hurry. They have outscored their opponents 345-150 so far this season.

“They are a very good offensive team,” Holland said. “They spend a lot of time working on that. They may give up some points every now and then, but overall they find ways to stop teams from scoring. A lot of their edge comes from special teams. They do a really good job of pinning team’s deep in their own territory.”

With a first round playoff game with American Christian already set, the Bulldogs are taking things one game at a time and not looking ahead.

“We haven’t talked much about the playoffs,” Holland said, “We know we have one regular season game left. The kids are focused on what they need to be doing.”

Kickoff between the Rebels and Bulldogs is set for 7 p.m.