To the Keith High School Bears football team, this week is simply known as Hatch Week.

It’s a week to which the Bears both look forward and dred at the same time.

This Friday night, Keith has the opportunity to win its first game and add on to R.C. Hatch High School’s state record losing streak.

The Bears also have the chance of being upset by Hatch and being known throughout Alabama as the team Hatch beat.

“This is a game we don’t want to lose,” Keith coach Harry Crum said. “We wouldn’t want to lose to Hatch even if we were going to the playoffs.”

The postseason, however, is not part of the picture for the Bears.

Both teams will seek their first victories of the season Friday night. For the Bears, winning the game means finally seeing the fruition of their hard work.

For R.C. Hatch, a victory would be the school’s first in several years.

Crum said he couldn’t remember the last time R.C. Hatch won a football game. He also said that the Bears could be their first victim if his team isn’t prepared to play Friday night.

“We still don’t take them lightly,” he said. “In fact, I probably work the kids harder during Hatch Week than anytime during the season.

“We have the attitude that we don’t want to lose to them,” Crum added. “If we do what we’re supposed to, we won’t lose to them.”

The Bears doing what they’re supposed to, Crum said, includes executing the fundamentals.

“We’bve got to block and we’ve got to tackle people,” Crum said. “We can’t have any turnovers. We have to hold on to the ball.”

Which is something Keith struggled with in last week’s 58-36 loss to Billingsley in which the Bears turned the ball over four times.

The Bears, however, received some good news in the form of Leo Vaughn. The Keith running back rushed for 232 yards and three touchdowns in the game.

“We can move the ball amazingly well,” Crum said. “We just can’t stop anybody.”

Another of Crum’s concerns is the youth of his team. Crum said Wednesday that eighth-grade fullback Jatavius Turner would make his fifth start of the season this week. Meanwhile, ninth grader Shedrick Harris will start at split end, ninth grader Demarius Dillard will be the starting right guard, eighth grader Brandon Wallace will open at defensive end and seventh grader Ricky Lewis will be the starting defensive tackle.

“I never expected us to be in the situation we’re in this year,” Crum said. “I thought we could overcome it with some scheme plays on offense. But to do that, you have to be strong.”

Crum said the lack of a true athletic physical education program at Keith has set his team back.

“Other schools can see to it that their players lift weights,” he said. “We can’t do that here. Lifting weights is work. In the summer, a kid’s in the air conditioning with his PlayStation going. You’re not going to get that kid out to work.”