TUSCOLA, Texas (BCH Sports) – Each game, under the Friday night lights, could change the course of a season.

After beating Vernon, 36-32, the Jim Ned Indians find themselves in a 3-way tie for the district lead, just one win from their fourth straight district championship.

Davis Soben said, “Those first three wins we had against top 10 teams at that time, we were the center of a high seed, but that loss against Eastland really showed us that we weren’t Gods I guess. That was a big wakeup call and since then we’ve address stuff a lot better.”

“I mean it makes us feel good that we still get a chance, but we still got to fight and push through and get our goal to district champions. And move on to playoffs,” said Carter Lange.

The journey to this moment was filled with obstacles, from early-season losses, to injuries to key players, they faced adversity head-on.

“The whole season just, man it’s been ups and downs, just batting through adversities,” said Soben.

Head coach Matt Fanning said, “These guys come to work through the good and the bad and have a great attitude and you know we have a great relationship with them. And that’s coaching and that’s why you do it and that’s a big thing that sticks out for sure.”

With a burning desire to succeed, the Indians fought their way back into contention.

“As far as the district title part of it, yeah sure we’re fighting for that, but really just trying to win the next ball game, get the highest seed we can get and make some noise,” Fanning added.

As they look ahead to the playoffs, they carry with them the knowledge that they can overcome any obstacle.

The Indians welcome Iowa Park Friday in their last regular season game at 7 p.m.