East Limestone coach Jeff Pugh didn’t mince words when talking about the importance of his team’s home game against Lawrence County on Friday.

“This is a must-win game for us as far as the region race goes,” Pugh said. “We’ve talked about it since we came in Sunday. It’s going to be a tough game for us, but that’s what it’s all about. We’ve got a chance to play at home and get another win in the region.”

East Limestone’s situation is pretty simple: Win its next three games against Lawrence County, Russellville and St. John Paul II to make the playoffs. Lose one game and face the unenviable task of having to win a game at region leader Brooks in order to slip in the playoffs.

“If we’re planning on getting in the playoffs, we don’t want to have to wait until that last week at Brooks to have to get in,” Pugh said. “We need to take care of business now.”

While East Limestone (2-3, 1-2) has to win its next three games, it’s the one on Friday that looks to be the toughest. Russellville is suffering through its worst season in 20 years while St. John Paul II has lost 35 consecutive games on the field (not counting a forfeit win over J.O. Johnson in 2015). Together, those two teams have a combined 0-10 record this season.

However, Lawrence County (3-2, 2-1) has won three of its last four games, with its only loss being a 42-35 setback to Brooks. The Red Devils made the playoffs last year at the Indians’ expense, as a 20-14 victory was the difference in finishing fourth in the region as opposed to fifth.

“They beat us last year just by taking the ball and running it down our throat,” Pugh said. “I’m sure they’ll try to do the same thing this year. We’ve got to do a good job of stopping their run game and forcing them to pass. I feel like if we take care of our business, it will be a close matchup.”

One thing Pugh said the Indians must do is make the plays when they are there to be made. He said East had four plays that would have either gone for touchdowns or been huge gains in last Friday’s 27-9 loss to Athens, but his team could not make any of them due to mistakes.

“Kids playing hard don’t win games,” Pugh said. “You’ve got to play hard and make plays. Every time it seems that we don’t make a play, it either costs us points or gives the other team points. We’ve got to be able to execute when the game is on the line. We haven’t done that in big games, and until we do, it’s going to be tough.”

Mistakes have been anything from dropped passes to missed blocks to penalties and bad snaps. But Pugh said they must stop if the Indians want to force their way into the playoffs.

“The biggest problem is the lack of concentration when it matters most,” he said. “Times when you’ve really got to concentrate on what your assignment is, and then make the play. I don’t know if our kids are pressing a little bit because our backs are against the wall, but we’ve got to make those plays. It takes a little more energy and concentration to make those plays, and it changes the whole momentum of the game.”