Tigers look to stay hot in quarterfinals

COMMERCE -- In the playoffs in any sport, it can be just as much about who is hot than it is about talent or tradition.<br /> <br /> Last year, the Commerce football team opened the first round of the Class A Public playoffs as a favorite at home. However, Charlton County, a 6-4 team heading into the game, caught fire late in a 35-21 win and rode that momentous win over the Tigers all the way to the state title game.<br /> <br /> Tigers coach Michael Brown wants to be THAT team this year.<br /> <br /> "A lot of times the team that kind of finds lightning in a bottle early and gets confidence is the one that goes all the way," Brown said. "Charlton was like that last year. We were equal teams but they were able to get the win and I think that helped them get there."<br /> <br /> After last week's impressive 37-7 win over Clinch County in the first round, Commerce may have gotten the spark it needed. It was the first playoff win for the Tigers (9-2) since 2009 in a game that many so-called prep experts felt Clinch County was a favorite on the road.<br /> <br /> "Clinch was a very talented team. But it's not always about talent," Brown said. "First round games now (in Class A) are much tougher than before because they have taken out an entire round. Only really good teams get into the playoffs.<br /> <br /> "The teams that prepare and execute are typically the ones that move on. We talked about that before last week and I think our guys did a tremendous job all night."<br /> <br /> Will Thomas was the catalyst on offense with 162 yards and four touchdowns rushing. Jesse Underhile paced the defense with 13 tackles and the Tigers also forced four turnovers in the game.<br /> <br /> They will need a similar effort Friday when they play host to Calhoun County, which took down No. 4 seed Mitchell County 13-12 on the road in a rematch where the Cougars turned the tables from a regular season loss.<br /> <br /> The Cougars (8-3) come in as the fourth-best defensive unit left in the field yielding just 12.8 ppg on the season. They have allowed just 24 total points with two shutouts over their past four games. It was their first-ever state playoff win as a program going back to the school's creation in 1971.<br /> <br /> The Tigers come in as the third-highest scoring team left in the field at 34.4 ppg but again, numbers can be deceiving. Mitchell County was averaging more than 27 ppg and had scored 41 or more points three times before last week. <br /> <br /> The Cougars are led by senior receiver Brandon Grady and senior safety Octavis Johnson.<br /> <br /> "We will have our hands full this week," Brown said. "Calhoun County found a way to win and this could be two teams that are getting hot at the right time. We'll need our best effort of the season."<br /> <br /> Commerce will be playing its second consecutive home game, where the Tigers are a perfect 6-0 on the season. Brown said playing at Tiger Stadium is an advantage.<br /> <br /> "Our guys like playing at home and when we have big crowds they seem to play at their best," he said. "Hopefully we'll have a big crowd even though its Thanksgiving week."<br /> <br /> But for Brown and the seniors, last week's win was just as much about returning the Tigers to former glory, where they were a threat every year to win a state title. They won the 2000 state title and reached the quarterfinals or better in eight of 12 seasons from 1995 to 2006, which was the last time they advanced to the quarterfinals.<br /> <br /> Grant Mayberry (DB/RB), KJ Jones (DB/RB), and Underhile (LB/FB), among all the seniors, have been instrumental, Brown said.<br /> <br /> "I believe we are back on an upward trend as a program," said Brown, who is in his second season as head coach after a long stint as an assistant for the Tigers. "We have a tremendous staff and I don't have to micromanage because they know what to do and do it well. Our desire is get back on top.<br /> <br /> "But the seniors the last two years have really been the ones to help us get to where we are. They have worked hard and led by example and helped the younger kids understand what they need to do to be successful. You have to have senior leadership and we started a program when I took over that I think has been very successful to this point."<br /> <br /> Brown said they are not looking for perfection against Calhoun County. What they're really looking for, he said, is to just do what they do and do it better than the Cougars.<br /> <br /> "We didn't play a perfect game last week but it was one of our better games of the year because we played as a team," Brown said. "We're not going to change anything at this point. For every team it's about execution.<br /> <br /> "We just need to do what we do better than we did last week. We can't control what the other team does but we can control what we do. (After last week) hopefully the guys realize now what they have to do to win once you get to the playoffs."