Bardstown took it on the chin last week at Christian Academy-Louisville, but Tiger coach David Clark said there’s no time for feeling sorry for themselves — not with another key district test tonight at Washington County.

“We’ve had spirited practices,” Clark said of how his team responded emotionally to the disappointment. “It’s very important after a loss like that in order to establish the right mental psyche coming back for the next week and really having a ‘closer’s mentality,’ leaving that game behind and going on to the next one.”

Bardstown (6-1, 2-1 dist.) heads to Springfield tonight to face off with a Washington County squad that started the season on a six-game skid before picking up a 41-6 win last week over Fort Knox. Clark said the Commanders have some quality athletes and size up front, and that playing at the Commanders’ home field is always a challenge.

“It’s imperative we get off to a good start and really solidify our seeds for the playoff run.”

A win over Washington County means Bardstown is right back in the thick of things in their quest for a home playoff game. Plus, if top-10 DeSales (5-2, 3-0 dist.) can score a win over Christian Academy tonight and if the Tigers could beat the Colts when they visit Garnis Martin Field next week, the top seed in District 4 could swing to Bardstown.

“That’s what we’re striving for is a home playoff game, and the district is still wide-open,” Clark said. But, “we have to take care of Washington County just to be in that position.”

Clark said the Tigers have been able in practice to clean up some of the mistakes that scuttled their chances at a road win over Christian Academy last week.

 “We’ve had a good, physical week of practice,” he said. “We’ve really worked on some of the issues we had in our passing game (last week), some of the areas we needed to correct.”

The Tigers have some injuries to some key senior starters to overcome, with back Dee Yocum out with an ankle injury and lineman Chris Cecil sitting with a banged-up shoulder. Donshais Calbert is also having trouble with an ankle injury and is a game-time decision as to whether he will play.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.