Jim Kremer began the process of preparing his football team for this season in December.

The Adairsville head coach had watched as the Tigers went 5-5 in each of his first two years at the helm and the players and staff were looking to take the program to the next level.

Friday night’s second round playoff game against No. 3 Fitzgerald will provide them with a progress report and a chance to turn some heads in the state.

“We’ve told our guys that we’ve got to go down there, look them in the eye and play the most physical game we’ve played all year,” Kremer said.

Adairsville (10-1) will be looking to extend their best season since 2001 when they make the five-hour drive to South Georgia.

With the exception of a mid-season loss to Region 7-AA South foe Pepperell, the Tigers pulled out a number of quality wins this season based on the foundation of hard-nosed offense and stubborn defense.

That philosophy carried them into the playoffs for the first time since 2003. They defeated Banks County in the opening round last week, 21-3.

“I think the kids had a great time,” Kremer said of the road win. “You could tell by looking at their faces at the end that they were excited to spend another week together and hopefully longer.”

Fitzgerald, also 10-1, took the Region 1-AA championship this year and has been big contenders in the state tournament.

“I think some of the similarities are there,” Kremer said. “They’ve played a couple of 5A schools but we’ve beaten some pretty good teams this year as well.”

Kremer said that the Hurricanes are a speedy team that is physical and has a lot of different looks on offense.

“As we go farther in the playoffs, the teams are getting better and better and Fitzgerald is a formidable team,” Kremer said.

The Tigers have seen a number of defensive players step up throughout the season while Mike Upshaw has stood out at running back for the offense.

Kremer said their goal has been to improve each week and progress as a team in order to be able to compete with the tougher teams in the state.

“One thing is that we have to keep our intensity level up for 48 minutes,” Kremer said.

“We’ve shown signs all year that we can hold our composure and focus. At times, we can have key mistakes and Fitzgerald can throw a lot at you.”

That’s why Adairsville’s staff has told the kids to treat each half of Friday’s game as two smaller games and work to get ahead in each one.

Kremer said that there is a sense of unity among the players on this year’s Tigers’ team with a number of players having played together since they were young.

And that has been a driving force in their success this season.

“So much is poured into why teams win,” Kremer said. “But the biggest things that go into it is players and team chemistry and I think that’s what we’ve got more of than anything else.”