FAYETTE — After suffering two consecutive heartbreaking losses in Region 7-3A play, Jefferson County coach James Herrington hopes his team can finally get over the hump and pick up a critical region win over Tylertown Friday night.

The Tigers have a 1-2 region record following close losses to South Pike and Franklin County.

Jefferson County lost 13-12 against South Pike and then 23-20 last week to Franklin County, when a last-second touchdown pass was negated due to an illegal shift penalty.

“Those games are behind us,” Herrington said. “We take the positives from those games and work on the things we didn’t do well, and get prepared for the next one.”

And the next one will most likely be just as tough as the last two games, as perennial power Tylertown will pay a visit to Tiger Stadium in Fayette.

The Chiefs are 4-1 overall and 3-0 in region play, following a 61-0 blowout win over Wilkinson County last Friday.

They also have region wins over North Pike (34-0) and Franklin County (13-7).

“Tylertown is not very big, but they run to the ball well,” Herrington said. “They’re very scrappy. They’re not 4-1 for nothing. They run the ball well and play solid defense. That win they had over Franklin County speaks volumes by itself.”

In order for Jefferson County to finally win a close game, Herrington said the Tigers need to brush up on the little things.

“Basically we’ve got to take care of the small things,” Herrington said. “We have to make sure we don’t penalize ourselves in key situations and continue to play hard like we have.”

And Herrington said it’s important for Jefferson County to do that, because he knows that if the Tigers drop to 1-3 in the region, it will be tough for them to get back into the playoffs.

“There is a sense of urgency right now because you can’t afford to get down at the end of the season having to beat North Pike to get into the playoffs,” Herrington said. “We definitely have to take care of business Friday. Normally three (region losses) will get you in (the playoffs), but we don’t want to hope somebody else loses for us to get in. We want to take care of our own business.”