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The Ariton Purple Cats will play the second of three straight home games and look to gain their third win of the season when they play region opponent Zion Chapel at home in Ariton on Thursday night.

The Purple Cats come into the game with a 2-5 overall record and a 1-3 record in region play, while the Rebels enter the game looking for their first win at 0-6.

These two teams last met on the field in 2017, with Ariton taking a 38-2 win.

The Purple Cats fell 32-22 against region opponent Abbeville last week after putting up 291 yards of offense.

The team has spent this week reflecting on their mistakes and how they need to improve to end their season.

“We’ve played four really good teams, but haven’t been able to get anything going,” said head coach Steven Kilcrease. “We had our chances in three of the four, and this past week [vs. Abbeville] was the best we’ve played in that span.”

Zion Chapel has seen a lot of injured players so far, and they have been in recovery mode since the start of the season.

“We’ve had a lot of injuries, and we’re trying to get kids back where we can play,” said head coach Randy Bryant. “We’re just trying to focus on the fundamentals of the game moving forward.”

These injuries have been especially difficult at the quarterback position, as new starters are constantly being rotated in.

“It feels like playing week one every week because you got somebody new that’s having to start in a new position or having to move around,” said Bryant. “We’ve had 5 different starters at quarterback during the last 6 weeks.”

Both Ariton and Zion Chapel have seen problems this year, but Kilcrease says that good football will still be played.

“Zion Chapel is going through injuries and things like us,” said Kilcrease. “It should be a really good game.”

Kickoff for Thursday’s game is set for 7 p.m.