Escambia County’s opening round win over the Andalusia Bulldogs in the AHSAA playoffs has earned them a rematch with the No. 3 Jackson Aggies this Friday.

The Aggies (10-1, 7-1) won round one against the Blue Devils winning 28-14 (8-3, 4-3) at Herbert Barnes Stadium, but this time around the two region rivals will collide at Jackson High School.

Despite the loss in the first match against Jackson, Blue Devils head coach Mark Heaton is keeping a positive attitude about this week’s game.

“It’s hard to beat a team twice,” Heaton said. “My high school coach always said that it’s hard to get a win against a team twice in one season. I’ve been in this situation before where you play in the regular season and again in the playoffs. It’s a lot harder to get the win the second time around.”

With the Blue Devils playing at a higher level in the playoffs, it might just be harder for the Aggies to get a repeat win.

Since their last meeting, the Blue Devils have won three straight games including last week’s 19-6 romp at Andalusia.

Heaton is not the only excited about taking on the Aggies again. He said his players are ready for another challenge.

“We are excited about the chance we have,” Heaton said. “I feel like we are much-improved from the first time we played them in week eight. It’s going to be a heck of a ballgame for both schools.”

For more on this story see Wednesday’s edition of The Atmore Advance.