Ardmore’s offense hasn’t scored a point in the last six quarters, and coach P.J. Wright said the team is focusing on identifying more playmakers in practice this week.

For the first half of the season, the Tigers were reliant on running back Chase Lay to carry the offensive load, but teams have started focusing in on Lay and making other players beat them. The result is six straight quarters of no points.

Ardmore was shut out in the second half of an 18-17 loss to Brewer two weeks ago and then lost 34-0 to East Limestone last week. Wright hopes more players will step up and take some pressure off Lay as the Tigers travel to play Guntersville Friday night.

“We have got to have other playmakers make plays,” Wright said. “When you become a one-dimensional offense, it becomes easier to stop. We’ve kind of turned into a one-dimensional offense. If you can stop Chase, that’s it. It’s my job to find other playmakers and get them the ball. We’re trying to spread it around. I’ve been here long enough to know who our playmakers are, but we’re having a hard time getting them the ball.”

Guntersville’s offense has also struggled the past two weeks, as the Wildcats have scored a total of 16 points in losing consecutive games to Madison Academy and Brewer. Guntersville was defeated by Madison Academy 35-8 and then lost to Brewer 32-8. The Wildcats are 2-4 overall and 2-3 in Class 5A, Region 8.

Wright said Guntersville is very similar to Ardmore, with the only difference being Guntersville defeated Scottsboro while the Tigers suffered a loss to the Wildcats.

“When I watch (Guntersville) on film, I see us,” Wright said. “They run a lot of the same offensive and defensive schemes and have got some talented players. But we have some talented players, too. We’re almost a mirror image of one another. We’re sitting in nearly the same spot, with almost the same record. The only difference is they beat Scottsboro and we didn’t.”

Ardmore has a 3-4 overall record and are 1-4 in region. Their loss to East Limestone last week eliminated them from playoff contention, but Wright said the team still has a lot to accomplish these next three weeks.

“Every week we’re trying to find a way to get better,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to get ourselves better, and this is another week we get to do it.”