Beat Opelika!

John Wild-Auburn-Opelika Tourism Bureau Sophomore guard Antreal Allen and the Tigers were 3-0 in the Area after defeating Central 72-55 last week. They are now 3-1.

Headed down the home stretch of Area play, Auburn High is in the driver's seat.

Sitting at 3-1 with two games remaining, the Tigers control their own destiny for control of the No. 1 seed in the Area tournament next month.

The Tigers suffered their first Area loss Tuesday as they fell 64-61 to Smiths Station. They host Opelika this Friday and play Central on the road Friday, Jan. 27.

Assistant head coach Chris Brandt wants to make sure his team remains focused on their goal of winning their region and taking the season one step at a time.

"If we can pull out two of the remaining Area games, that would guarantee us at least a tie," Brandt said. "We continue to stress to the players that we need to host the Area because all the teams are pretty much equal, but having that home crowd definitely helps."

Ranked No. 11 in the latest AHSAA polls, Auburn High has gained statewide recognition for their strong play so far this season, but Brandt doesn't want to let his players lose focus on the next game on the schedule.

"You can use the polls either way," Brandt said. "It's nice to be recognized, as an 'honorable mention,' but what it comes down to is our Area. We make it real simple. It comes down to that old cliché 'one step at a time.' I think our schedule and our season has prepared us for the tournament, but the next two weeks will be very tough for us."

The top seed is still in flux because the three top teams: Smiths Station, Central and Auburn High, all have other Area teams left on their schedule.

"There's two or three games that everyone has to play, so it's still wide open," Brandt said.

Auburn High will have to make it through a stretch of games that include Opelika this Friday night, Dadeville on Saturday, a make-up game with Benjamin Russell on Monday, Lafayette on Tuesday and then Central on Friday.

That stretch will determine to Area seeding for postseason play.

With so many games in a short time period, Brandt will use the opportunity to give some bench players some extra minutes during their non-Area games.

"It's going to be wear and tear on the kids, but I think it will make them stronger by the time we get to the playoffs, "Brandt said. "We'll probably sub more in the non-Area games. It gives those kids who haven't been able to play as much so far some confidence because you never know who you might need to step up."

Daijon MacKlien is the only returning starter from last year's team, so he is leaned on heavily, but Brandt wants develop other scoring options and not lean on MacKlien as much.

"Daijon can play many different positions," Brandt said. "He can bring the ball up when we need him, he can score when we need him, and he plays very good defense. But we don't need to use him too much, we need to find other ways to score. Tez Brooks has been getting 10-11 points off the bench the last few weeks, so that's real strong."

Auburn High feature three seniors as their main contributors, MacKlien, Cole Stockton and Cody Core.

Brandt said the hardest part of coaching this team is the inexperience throughout, but it has been very important to have his core be experienced veterans.

Friday's tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. The AHS varsity girls will play the OHS girls at 6 p.m.