For both West Lauderdale and Clarkdale it’s all about how each team will respond after a loss.

That will be the case for both squads as the Bulldogs (0-1) make the short trip up to Collinsville to face the Knights (0-1) in their Week 2 matchup on Friday night.

“The main focus this week for us is we’ve got to focus on us and get back to doing things that as always made us successful. Fix the mistakes we made last week and learn from them,” said West Lauderdale coach Brock Clay. “We’ve got to do the little things right, running the football, playing good defense, and blocking and tackling well. We’ve got to fix the little things and things we normally we do right.”

Last week in their 26-13 loss to Magee, West Lauderdale had 224 yards of total offense and only managed 65 yards of offense and seven first downs in the second half.

The Knights will once again lean on a ground game anchored by quarterback Kayden Peoples along with running backs Travion Mosley and Douglas Rowe. Receivers Kohen Peoples, Camryn Vaughn and Jack Davidson will look to be the top targets on the outside.

Davidson at linebacker and Vaughn at defensive back will lead the defense.

Last season this game came down to the very end that saw West Lauderdale coming away with a 28-27 win.

“We’ve got a young team with 11 starters back and those young guys are having to adjust to the speed of the game because it’s different,” Clay said. “This game with Clarkdale is big for both communities because the kids know each other and have played recreational ball together and it’s a good game for us. Clarkdale is a very disciplined team, and they block the right people, well coached and do a really good job.”

For Clarkdale it’s all about running the ball and sustaining drives. The Bulldogs will lean on quarterback Jake Lee and running back Isaiah Brown to lead the offense.

Clarkdale is coming off a 34-0 loss to Tylertown last week.

“The story of the season for us is we’ve got a tough non-district schedule, so every week we’ve got to be prepared to do the little things right and not make mistakes. We’re young at a lot of spots, so if we make a mistake against a good team like West Lauderdale they will make you pay for it,” said Clarkdale coach Will Vollor. “We’ve got to be gap sound on defensive and do the little things right. We’re going to be the smaller team in numbers, so we got to run the ball and sustain drives. We got to keep the pressure on them.”

Week 3 Schedule

Meridian (0-1) at Biloxi (1-0)

NE Lauderdale (1-0) at Tri-County Academy (2-0)

SE Lauderdale (0-1) at Richland (0-1)

Lamar vs. Winston Academy at home

Russell Christian vs. Columbus Christian Academy at home