After all was said and done this season, Bowling Green managed to win its seventh straight district title, compiled an 8-2 record and earned the right to host a first-round game tonight at El Donaldson Stadium in the Class 5A state playoffs.

“We’re where we need to be. We’re a one seed,” BG coach Kevin Wallace said about the Purples’ regular season, which included a rare loss to a district opponent in an 18-10 setback to Warren Central.

“We have home field for a couple weeks. I’m not sure we ever said one word about being undefeated. Our goal is to be at our best when November gets here. The most important thing is what’s ahead of us right now.”

And ahead of the Purples is Hopkinsville, a 3-7 team which won one district game but lost four games by 13 points or fewer.

“It’s been a strange season for Hopkinsville,” Wallace said. “You watch them on film and they have good size, good athletic ability - but they’ve found a way to lose. They’re gonna come in here with nine or 10 seniors starting on defense and a defense that’s been very effective against good teams.

“They were expected to feed off their defensive efforts and if they can frustrate us and keep us from scoring points, the game will turn into a physical match that could be really tight. This is not going to be a normal one (seed) versus four (seed) that we’re accustomed to. We’ve had a lot of running-clock games in the first round - this is not going to be a running-clock game.”

The contest figures to trend toward the physical side, with more defense than offense.

“We’ve had a decent week of practice. We have emphasized to our guys the importance of bringing a very physical nature to the game (tonight),” Wallace said. “We all go about our business around here with a firm reminder that a poor effort or poor execution will end the careers of a number of seniors. I hope we’ll use that as the proper motivational tool to get use prepared from a mental standpoint.”

Outside of a 44-7 loss to Fort Campbell - the No. 1 team in Class 2A - the Tigers are allowing just 15 points a game.

“They have good size with their interior folks and they run a scheme we haven’t seen much very often with a lot of blitzing,” Wallace said. “I think we have a good plan for it, but you can always have good plans. Until you go out and prove your Xs move a little quicker or hit a little harder than their Os - it’s not gonna work.”

The Purples regained a bit of their swagger last week in a 49-0 rout of Barren County in Glasgow.

“It’s about us - it’s not necessarily about who we’re playing,” Wallace said. “We’ve got to have a level of intensity and a physical presence that promotes your athletic ability. No team can afford to be caught to be playing at less than their maximum ability at this point and expect to win.”

If victorious, BGHS will host the Owensboro-Grayson County winner Nov. 13. Hopkinsville, with a win, would travel to the winner of that game.

“They’re better than a 3-7 team - and I’m not just saying that,” Wallace said about HHS. “They just haven’t finished off games. If our defense plays well, we really have a chance of limiting them in terms of them being able to score points.”