The postseason is nothing new in Homerville, where the Clinch County football team is entering the fray for the 10th consecutive season.

But that doesn’t mean the Panthers won’t be without challenges when they take on Emanuel County Institute tonight in the first round of the Class A playoffs. Kickoff at Donald Tison Field is at 7:30 p.m.

The biggest task for the Panthers may be playing up to the standards of intensity they set during the regular season, especially after a two-week layoff since their last game.

“We were really starting to peak,” Clinch County head coach Jim Dickerson said of the Panthers’ final regular season game, a 47-0 win at Pelham. “I hope we haven’t gotten out of our groove with that execution edge. But I really think the two weeks off have made us hungry to play football. I’m looking at the positive side.”

Another positive aspect of an off week is the added rest for a team that had played 10 straight games — senior defensive end Russell Robinson will return after missing the entire regular season due to injury — as well as the chance to produce a detailed, first-hand scouting report on tonight’s opponent.

ECI (6-4, 4-3 in Region 3-A) is in the playoffs for the second consecutive season but also has the unfortunate predicament of facing a No. 1 seed for the second time in a row. Last year, the Bulldogs made an early exit with a 28-0 loss to Pacelli.

The Panthers (9-1, 6-0 in 1-A) are 1-1-1 in the all-time series with ECI and won 35-0 in the last meeting, a first-round playoff matchup in 1996.

Of course, that history has little to do with this year’s teams.

“The thing is, they’ve got their entire squad back from last year,” Dickerson said of the Bulldogs. “And they were expected to win their region, they just kind of fell on some hard times. It’s the most dangerous No. 4 team we’ve played in the last two or three years.”

ECI averaged 22 points per game during the regular season and gave up an average of 11, pitching three shutouts along the way. And the Bulldogs played the opposition closely in their four losses (with the exception of a 22-0 loss to Portal), losing by eight points or less in three of those games.

The Panthers, who were ranked No. 3 in Class A in the season’s final AP poll, have shown steady improvement on offense since midseason and enter the playoffs averaging 39 points per game. On defense, they’ve been more than impressive, with shutouts in five of their last seven contests.

All of that, coupled with the fact that the lone loss is a two-point defeat to Charlton County (9-1), a No. 2 seed in Class AA, has made Clinch County among those favored to advance deep into the postseason.

“Our seniors are used to winning,” Dickerson said. “They’ve made it to the (Class A semfinals in the Georgia Dome) every year … this is their team and their chance to do that again. They know what to expect and they’re as hungry as ever.”