By By Adam Prestridge
The Escambia County High School varsity boy's basketball team made a slam-dunk this past season with Atmore fans.
Monday afternoon, the Atmore City Council commended the Blue Devils on a remarkable season and presented first-year head coach Jerome Antone with a proclamation marking the momentous occasion.
"We take great pleasure today in presenting the Escambia County basketball team with this proclamation for a job well done," Mayor Pro-Tem John Watkins said.
The Blue Devils finished the season as the Alabama High School Athletic Association's Class 4A, Area 1 Tournament Champions with a record of 24-5 after suffering a heart-breaking loss to Greene County 56-54 in the area sub-regional tournament in Atmore.
"I would like to say on the behalf of Escambia County High School, Superintendent Buck Powell and principal Kyle Ferguson, thank you," Antone said.
Escambia County was 4-0 in tournament play this past season with championship trophies from the Clarke County Tournament, the Escambia County Tournament with a 49-40 win over archrival T.R. Miller in Flomaton and the Monroeville Tournament.
"We look forward with great anticipation that you will be back next year and we'll have the opportunity to present you with another proclamation where you have gone on to state and have won the state championship," Watkins said.
Members of the Blue Devils' basketball team as well as its coaching staff and parents of players were also on hand during the meeting. Watkins ended the presentation with some words of wisdom for the basketball team.
"This shows you that you can do anything that you set your mind to," he said. "But the first thing you need to correct is you. The hardest person in the world to get along with is self. If you can get along with self, you can get along with anybody. Maybe this will serve the purpose intended.
"Hopefully, you will always remember this year and the things that you accomplished and move on to greater things. It's not going to be easy, but you can do it. Stay on the right course, stay on the right track and continue to promote yourself. Nobody's going to promote self, but self. And if you will do that, I will assure you that you can do anything you desire to do."
In other business, the council:
"We asked for the tax abatement for some building additions and some new equipment," The Dixie Group's director of tax, Bill Edwards, who was on hand during the meeting, said. "At the time, we probably knew it wasn't going to be enough. As it turns out we're spending a little bit more on the building additions and also some more equipment."