By By Tim Cottrell
It's do-or-die for the Escambia County Blue Devils.
Standing at 1-3 in the region, the Blue Devils must win out to have a shot at the playoffs – and hope for a little help.
The first step towards getting there will come Friday night when the Dolphins of Gulf Shores pay a visit to Atmore as the Blue Devils celebrate homecoming and senior night.
The Dolphins (1-2, 3-2) come in with their first winning record after five games in school history, and ECHS head coach Kyle Davis said the team was not to be taken lightly.
"They've won some big ballgames," Davis said. "They're coming in with some confidence. They've got their first winning record in school history, and they beat us last year, so they've got that to hang there hat on. They're a pretty big bunch of kids. We're going to have to play a good game. They execute real well. They don't do much, but what they do they do really well. We're faster, and we've probably got more talent than they do on the field at one time. They've got a lot of kids they'll be playing both ways. So that will give us an advantage because our kids will be more fresh."
After a 2-4 start that has been marked by inconsistent play at times, Davis said consistency would be the key the rest of the way.
"We have got to play with consistency," Davis said. "We have not played with consistency in many of our games. Overall, we are not a consistently good football team. If we get consistent play, we're going to win some games."
Davis said the staff was also making sure the team was aware of the importance of the next three games, but also making sure they didn't overlook anyone.
"We've just tried to give them an overall view," Davis said. "We just want to take it one game at a time. We can still finish with a winning record. We can still finish in the playoffs. But in order for us to do that we're going to have to win our next three games. We want to show them the big picture and show them what we need to accomplish, but also keep taking things one game at a time."
The Blue Devils and Dolphins will kick off at 7 p.m. Friday night at Herbert Barnes Stadium here in Atmore. Senior night will be observed prior to the game at 6:30 p.m., and the crowning of the homecoming queen will occur at halftime.