WOODVILLE — It might be just the fourth week of the season, but for the Wilkinson County Christian Academy Rams, the playoffs begin now.

The Rams started off district play with losses to Huntington and Glenbrook and now must win out if they want to make it back to the playoffs.

The first game of their extended playoffs is Friday when they travel to face Claiborne Academy.

“Our second season starts now,” WCCA coach Sam Byrd said. “If we want a chance to move on to the playoffs, we’ve got to start winning.”

If the Rams are to start winning, Claiborne might just be the right team to start with.

The Rebels are 0-3 with a 42-14 loss to Porter’s Chapel, a 20-6 loss to Tallulah Academy and a 41-35 loss to Riverdale last week.

Despite the Rebels’ poor record, Byrd said they are a good team that WCCA must play well against in order to win.

“They are a very good run team and run a lot of traps and off tackle plays,” Byrd said. “We’ve had trouble defending both (of those plays). It will be a challenge for us to stop. They’re a solid team on both offense and defense.”

Byrd said Claiborne will enjoy a size advantage, but that is something WCCA is used to.

“They’re a little bigger than we are, but everyone we play is bigger than we are,” Byrd said. “We hear that every week. It’s nothing new for us. The one with the most talent doesn’t always win, but the one with the most heart does. That’s what we’ve been preaching to the kids. Play with all your heart and leave it all out on the field.”

Another thing that is nothing new to the Rams is making late runs to get into the playoffs. They did the same thing last year.

WCCA won five of its final six district 6-A games to make the playoffs as a wild card team after dropping its first two district games, once again against Huntington and Glenbrook.

“They players are pretty pumped up and ready to play,” Byrd said. “We lost six seniors from last year’s team so we’re all jelling together now. Our mindset is, we’ve done this before so lets dig in and do it again.”