The countdown has begun as the DeKalb County Tiger football season looms just a month away, kicking off with the annual border battle against Warren County.

“They’ve done well over the summer,” said Tiger Head Coach Steve Trapp who has kept the team conditioned throughout summer break aside from the state required dead period which ended July 1. “We will be out in helmets and then in pads, getting ready for the season.”

The Tigers have already had a taste of competition with a seven-on-seven passing scrimmage against Cookeville, a challenge in the coach said his players did well.

“We tied one and won five,” he said of the mini games against Cookeville.

Upcoming scrimmages to help prepare for the season opener at home against Warren County on Aug. 17 will include a trip to Gordonsville on July 27 for a 6 p.m. kickoff. The Tigers will then return home for their final tune up as they host Friendship Christian on Aug. 3.

“We are calling that our football community event,” the coach revealed. “There will be a BBQ dinner for the fans and we will also have our Ford Drive event that night.”

Coach Trapp said Clay County had to withdraw from a jamboree the team had planned, so barring the last-minute scheduling of another scrimmage and a planned seven-on-seven at Shelbyville, the Friendship Christian game will sum up the pre-season for the Tigers.

When the season does kick off, the Tigers will be looking to avenge their opening day loss last year at Warren County, 26-10, when they host their old rivals in a series that began in 2005. Prior to their loss last year, the Tigers had bested the Pioneers three years in a row.

The Tigers finished their 2017 campaign with a 3-8 mark with wins over Grundy County, Cannon County and Cumberland County. They were bounced from the playoffs in the first round by fourth-ranked Marshall County who made it to the state semi-finals before falling to eventual champions Greeneville.