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FAYETTE — When the first round of the MHSAA Class 3A South State Playoffs get under way Friday night, the Jefferson County High School Tigers will take on an opponent they are very familiar with, albeit in the regular season — the Hazlehurst High School Indians.

Kickoff between Region 6-3A No. 4 seed Hazlehurst (3-6) and Region 7-3A No. 1 seed Jefferson County is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Indians earned their postseason berth by winning at Region 6-3A and Copiah County rival Crystal Springs High School 29-0 last Thursday night.

Meanwhile the Tigers, led by quarterback Royale Shelvy, rallied to defeat Wesson Attendance Center 46-34 in a game played at H.S. Stone Stadium on the campus of Copiah-Lincoln Community College last Friday night to win the Region 7-3A championship for the third year in a row and earn that region’s No. 1 seed.

Jefferson County head coach Roderick Holmes said it’s an honor to be hosting a first-round game. Even though Hazlehurst is having a down season, the Tigers cannot take the Indians lightly.

“It’s a test of the hard work and dedication of the football program. At the end of the year, winning district is always a great accomplishment. Being able to play a home game in the first round is always exciting,” Holmes said. “It’s the playoffs, so everyone’s 0-0. The team that wins this week keeps on playing.”

The last two times Jefferson County faced Hazlehurst, with each match-up at Jefferson County, the outcome didn’t turn out the way the Tigers were hoping for. On Sept. 23, 2022 as non-region opponents, the Indians shut out the Tigers 12-0. On Oct. 23, 2020 as Region 7-3A foes, Hazlehurst held on to defeat Jefferson County 16-14.

The Tigers were able to get practice outside on Monday, but the inclement weather that hit the Miss-Lou on Tuesday had an effect on what they were able to do.

“With the drenching rain, we weren’t able to get outside (Tuesday). We had to do some inside things like film and classroom studies. Hopefully, that will equal good play on the outside field,” Holmes said.

As for what the Tigers will be working on in practice this week when they are outside, Holmes said, “Working on stopping the things they do best on offense. Offensively, we’ll be working on things to beat their defense.”

When asked what concerns the Indiana the most on each side of the ball, Holmes said, “They have athletes. They’ve always had athletes.

Hazlehurst runs a spread offense with a lot of running and the Indians play a 3-4 defense.

“They try to keep seven men on defense in the box. We have to be able to take advantage of mismatches,” Holmes said about what the Tigers’ offense will have to do to counter the Indians’ 3-4 defense.

Holmes said the defensive line will need to have a big game for Jefferson County to defeat Hazlehurst and advance to the second round.

“Our defensive line has to be able to disrupt what they do in the running game. If our defensive line can do that, we can win the game,” Holmes said. “Offensively, pretty much need the receivers to make plays.”