By By Matthew Nascone
The Escambia County Blue Devils have their work cut out for them, but if last week was any indication, they are headed in the right direction.
The Blue Devils hit the road last week and headed for Satsuma as the underdog and they almost pulled off the upset. They were down seven points in the fourth quarter with the ball before they turned it over and the game ended.
But head coach Kyle Davis said that was a momentum builder for ECHS.
"Nobody wants to lose, but the way we played aggressively in that game was a good sign for this week," Davis said. "Because when you get into the playoffs it is not about who went undefeated in the regular season, it is about who is playing well at that point in time."
If the Devils want to come away with a victory this Friday in Fayette County, they will have to keep the No. 9 ranked Tigers' star athlete at bay.
"We have to stop Sidney Cochran," Davis said. "He does everything for them. He can catch the ball, run the ball and hit people on defense. If we stop him I believe we will be in good position to win the game. But we will have to play one of our best games of the season because they have a winning tradition over there."
Davis said the Devils would try to stretch the field early and run on the Tigers late in the game.
"Hopefully we can wear them down and run right at them," he said. "And on defense I don't see our matchups being that lopsided. As far as personnel and ability we match up with them, but it will come down to who can execute their plan better.
Fayette is almost 300 miles from Atmore and kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Blue Devils first playoff game in five years.