By By Matthew Nascone
Gavin Salter had the Escambia Academy fans on their feet Friday night.
Salter, a freshman wide receiver and return man for the Cougars, took the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and junior placekicker Dustin Brown gave EA a 7-0 advantage over No. 5-ranked Faith Academy in Mobile.
"The funny part about that is I was actually talking with our referee on our sideline right before he did it about how we were going to run back the kick and then put in all of our subs," EA head coach Heath Gibson said. "And after Gavin returned it the ref looked at me with that 'How did you know' look on his face."
The Rams (7-3) did not take long to tie the score, taking the ball down the field on two plays on their opening drive. Faith added another score with five minutes remaining in the first quarter for a 14-7 lead.
They added two more scores before halftime to outscore EA 26-0 following the Salter touchdown.
The Cougars (5-5) held Faith to three-and-out on their first drive in the second half and EA sophomore quarterback Jon Dean led his team down the field for a score. Dean punched it in from 10 yards out and Brown missed the PAT for a 26-13 Rams' lead.
Dean finished the game with 67 yards on the ground on nine carries and was 1-for-4 through the air for three yards.
Sophomore wide receiver Tank Mitchell rushed four times for 50 yards. Sophomore running back Cameron McGhee toted the rock 13 times for 41 yards. Junior tailback Kaweta Coon carried five times for 22 yards and senior Dustin Hall had one carry for 22 yards. The Cougars racked up 203 total rushing yards in the game.
Gibson said the game could have been even closer, but the Cougars missed an opportunity.
"After Jon scored we kicked to them and they fumbled on that series," Gibson said. "We drove the ball down to the five-yard line and just couldn't punch it in. That took the momentum away from us."
Faith took the ball 95 yards for the final score of the game on the ensuing drive.
Gibson said he was proud of how his team played Friday.
"Being in that game like that was real good for our team as we head to the playoffs," he said. "I told them after the game that was the best game they have played all year. We were physically outmanned and we played well."
Gibson said this was the best game the team could play heading into the playoffs.
"I think if we play like that against Meadowview, it will be a good game to watch," he said.
McGhee led the defense with 14 tackles. Dean added 11 tackles. Mitchell had eight tackles and a fumble recovery and junior defensive end Blake Kirk also had a fumble recovery.
Next up for the Cougars is the first round of the playoffs in Selma against the Meadowview Christian School Trojans Nov. 2.