By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

At the midway point of the season, the Selma High School Saints football team is preparing to enter the meat of its schedule and continue its pursuit of the playoffs. The Saints (3-2, 2-1) will travel to Clanton to play the Chilton County Tigers (0-5, 0-3) in a region game Friday at 7 p.m.

Selma head football coach Leroy Miles said the Tigers will be a tough opponent despite their winless record.

“The games they’ve lost have been close games,” Miles said. “They might be one of the better 0-5 teams we’ll play. They’re a very disciplined team. They’ve got a real good coaching staff and some athletes.”

Miles said the Saints will try to keep the Tigers’ offense on the sidelines.

“We’re going to try to control the football and keep them off the field,” Miles said. “We’re just going to try and minimize our mistakes.”

The Saints will return 16 starters who were suspended for Friday’s 48-6 loss against Sidney Lanier for breaking team rules.

“It’s very important for us to get back on the winning side and put all these suspensions behind us and just move our program forward to the way it should have been before these suspensions,” Miles said. “It was a minor setback, but that’s what we do as coaches—put things back on track.”

Friday’s game against Chilton County will begin a four-game stretch of region opponents for the Saints. The stretch will be crucial in deciding the Saints’, who are currently third in 5A Region 3, postseason fate.