Following a 24-21 loss to Oak Grove High School Oct. 9, Meridian High School was left with little room for error in its district.

Last Friday, the Wildcats traveled to Brandon High School, which had won six straight games and seven of its first eight. Despite being underdogs, the Wildcats came away with an impressive 14-7 win, giving themselves more control over their playoff fate.

Now, as Meridian (4-4, 3-1) turns its attention to Petal High School (4-4, 2-2) this week, head coach Larry Weems said his team could not afford to think it can breeze through the rest of its schedule now that teams like Brandon and Oak Grove are in its rear-view mirror.

“Petal is a school with a lot of pride, and they have good players and good coaches,” Weems said. “They know if they can win this ball game, they can turn this thing into a three-way tiebreaker (in the region).

“There isn’t really any letup. We have to win our next three if we want to host a playoff game in the first round. That’s the bottom line.”

Meridian opened its season with three straight losses but has won four of its last five. The win at Brandon showed how important it was to play consistently well for four quarters, Weems said.

“I knew we had to play well, and I think we finally played through the end of the fourth quarter instead of not quite finishing the game,” Weems said. “I didn’t find out anything different as far as the kids we have. I think we’ve always known we’re solid in a lot of spots, but you have to compete at a high level and do your job all the way through, every play.

“If you take one play off, the other team can make a play on you, and that’s the difference in the game.”

As far as the significance of beating a team of Brandon’s caliber, Weems said it was more about doing well in Region 3-6A than it was about getting a win against a big-name opponent.

“We’ve played a bunch of good teams,” Weems said. “I think the significance of it is when (the game is played). It’s a region game; we’re all trying to get into the playoffs. We already had a region loss, and we can’t lose another one. They were the next team, so that’s the significance.”

After Petal, the Wildcats will round out the regular season by hosting Terry and Forest Hill high schools the final two weeks of the season. Weems said he still believes his team has room to improve, especially with several players such as safety Quincy Lenton, a Florida commit, nursing injuries.

“I think there’s a ton of stuff still to do,” Weems said. “We have so many guys who are new on the field playing different positions, and stuff happens every week. There is all kind of room for improvement, and hopefully if we can keep on playing into the postseason, we can get some of those guys back.”

Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Friday at Petal.