HOMERVILLE –– Clinch County football coach Don Tison Jr. had the perfect analogy when describing Friday night’s Class A Public semifinal game against rival Irwin County.

“It’s like fighting your brother. I didn’t have a brother but I know brothers fight and they fight a lot and make each other tougher,” said Tison, whose Panthers have defeated the Indians in the last two state championship games; 27-20 in 2018 and 21-12 in 2017. “I really think that we can give some credit to Irwin for the success that we’ve had because we know that we’ve got to come to work and really work extra hard to compete with them because we know the type of program that they have.”

The Indians program this year, even while its head coach Buddy Nobles fights stomach cancer, has been the class of single-A football this year with its 12-0 record, including a 14-0 victory over Clinch County during the regular season on Sept. 20. Defense has spurred the Indians success all season. Irwin County has allowed just 63 points in 12 games. It has pitched six shutouts, including five straight from Oct. 4 through Nov. 8.

“They just have so many good players. The defensive line, they’re all seniors. They’re all just very talented and tough and just very well coached,” Tison said. “The linebackers and secondary are just very well coached, great players. It’s a challenge. Hardly anybody has scored on them all year.”

The best any team has done this year was Chattahoochee County in the second round of the playoffs, though it was routed 47-22.

Fans of Class A football have eyed this matchup ever since the brackets were released before the playoffs. Tison said his team has stayed focus throughout its playoff run and not looked ahead to meeting the Indians again.

“All year we’ve focused on taking the season one game at a time. Especially after going back to back, winning state championships in back-to-back years, coming into this year, we were kind of afraid of kids just expecting that to happen and not going about and doing the things you’ve got to do on a daily basis in order to potentially get back to the (title) game. All year, even all the way back to the summer, we’ve just been preaching, taking it one game at a time and focusing on that,” Tison said. “Obviously, when we see the brackets come out, you see that potential matchup. You just have the vision of how much fun and how big of a game that would be but then you fall back to take it one game at a time.”

While the previous two playoff meetings have occurred on a neutral field for the state championship, this one will take place in Irwin County’s backyard. An electric atmosphere awaits both teams.

“It’s just a great environment, whether you’re playing Homerville or you’re playing in Ocilla. It’s just a great environment to be in. It’s going to be like a state championship environment,” Tison said.

Kickoff for Friday’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Ocilla.