NEWBERRY — The Newberry High School Bulldogs will face off against the Indian Land High School Warriors tonight in the first round of playoff action.

The Bulldogs are going into tonight’s game after defeating the Mid-Carolina Rebels 45-13, winning their first regional title since 2006.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 7-1 overall record and 4-1 region record. The Warriors wrapped up their regular season with a 2-8 overall record and 1-3 region record, and are coming off a 39-8 loss against Fairfield Central.

“We’ve had three weeks to practice and we’ve been practicing a lot. The guys are really just ready to get back out there and start playing,” said Newberry High Football Coach Phil Strickland.

To prepare for tonight’s game, Strickland’s main focus has been to continue working on getting the team better and fixing mistakes made in past games.

“We’re really just trying to get better. We’ve been working on fixing stuff that we’ve been doing wrong and we’ve even been putting in different type plays that will hopefully help us this week,” he said. “Offensively and defensively the team is looking good. We’ve been able to iron out a few problems and now we’re just ready to play.”

Newberry has played Indian Land two times in the last four years and has beaten them both times in the first round of playoffs. But Strickland said that the Warriors’ defense and exceptional ability to run trap plays will be something the Bulldogs will have to look out for.

The Bulldogs will host the Warriors tonight, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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By Kelly Duncan

kduncan@civitasmedia.com

Reach Kelly Duncan at 803-768-3123 ext. 1868 or on Twitter @TheNBOnews.