Escambia Academy will have a tough road test against No. 2 Bessemer Academy tomorrow night.

At present, BA is undefeated at 7-0 on the season and is coming off a 41-2 victory over Southern Academy. The Cougars posted a 41-0 shutout over Glenwood.

The last time EA played Bessemer was during the AISA Class 3A state championship game, in which the Cougars won, 35-28.

“They’re one of the elite schools in AISA,” EA head football coach Hugh Fountain said. “They’re loaded with good talent and good size. They’re big on both sides of the ball. They’re huge. They have an outstanding unit.”

Leading the charge for Bessemer Academy is quarterback Logan Burnett. Burnett is more of a pocket passer, but he can maneuver around the field.

“They’re balanced yardage wise, both running and throwing,” Fountain said.

On the ground, senior running back Simmons Thomar gained 140 yards. The bruiser of the team is Brandon Cook, who gained 86 yards on three carries last week.

“Things are a little bit different with Bessemer because they have a good fixture of offense,” Fountain said.

Fountain said that Bessemer’s defense has a lot of speed. In the game last week, there were several defenders who racked up tackles.

“They’ve got plenty of good players every where,” Fountain said.

The two big keys to this week’s game is that the Cougars must play well on offense and have to be in the right spot on defense to make plays.

“We’ve got to play well offensively,” Fountain said. “It’s going to be a game in which they’re strong on the offensive side of the ball. We also got to be able to move the ball, and put points on the board.

“Defensively, we’re going to have to be in the right spot,” he said. “You got to make sure they’re hemmed up and tackle.”

An additional key for the Cougars this week is to not give up big plays, the coach said.

“We can’t give up the big plays on third and 10,” he said.

Kick off in Bessemer tomorrow night is at 7.