Laney has never beaten Swainsboro. The Tigers have outscored Laney by 69 points across three meetings.

Those numbers mean very little to Swainsboro coach Shane Williamson right now.

"Everything I see on film scares me about Laney," he said. "They've got all the ingredients of a great team. They are well-coached. They've got great speed. Great athleticism. Lots of tradition. They spread you out and make you defend the whole field."

Laney (3-0) will play host to Swainsboro (3-0) tonight in a key Region 3-AA contest at Lucy Craft Laney Memorial Stadium.

"Coach (Eric) Parker definitely left the cupboard full when he left Laney for Burke County," Williamson said. "There's no doubt we are facing our stiffest opponent so far.

"It's rare at Swainsboro to face a team that has more athletes than us. But you have to say we make this trip knowing we are probably the underdogs in this one."

Williamson's best attempts at building up his opponent hit the mark. Laney does seem faster than ever this year.

"They've just got so much speed and the best way to play against speed is to just run straight at it," Williamson said.

That used to be the Swainsboro way. Williamson chose to abandon his previous philosophy of ball-control by running the football.

He switched to the spread offense this year. Swainsboro threw the ball 46 times in its scrimmage. The Tigers now run and throw the ball about 25 times a game.

Laney's fans know what that looks like.

"They look a lot like us," Laney coach Lemuel Lackey said. "It's sort of like looking at a mirror because they run some of the same stuff we do. It's a different Swainsboro. They seem to be more wide open offensively. Their kids are running and gunning and have scored a lot of points."

That's evident by the production from two of Swainsboro's top players. Senior quarterback Renard James has thrown 10 touchdowns against zero interceptions. Sophomore all-purpose back Malcolm Eady has produced 11 scores in a variety of ways.

Those two will lead an offense likely to fill the sky with footballs. That will be quite the contrast to Swainsboro's 6-0 win last year.

Williamson said his team executed its game plan to hold back Laney's speed perfectly in that contest.

"It will be tougher this year because I think Laney has an even better team," Williamson said.

So do the Wildcats. But truth be told, a lot of this year's returnees felt the same way last season.

"We left so many points on that field last year," Laney senior lineman Brandon Thurmond said. "This year we've got to execute better so we don't feel the same way we did last year."

According to the Georgia High School Football Historians Association's Web site, a Swainsboro victory would put them in a rare category.

Dublin is the only school that has played Laney at least four times and beaten them every time they've met.