A trip to the playoffs is on the line this weekend when the Escambia County Blue Devils hit the road to take on the Saraland Spartans in Saraland Friday night.

The Blue Devils (3-3, 2-2) need a win in this game to get a step ahead in the race for the postseason against the Spartans (2-4, 1-3).

Coming into the game, the Spartans will be trying to bounce back from a 52-14 loss to the UMS-Wright Bulldogs, while the Blue Devils will try and get back on the winning track after a 38-15 set back against the No. 1 Thomasville Tigers last week in Atmore.

With only a few games remaining in region play, the Blue Devils need a win in this game to set themselves up for the playoffs, Escambia County head coach Mark Heaton said.

“It’s a very important game for our season,” he said. “We have three region games left and we must win two out of three to have the best chance to reach the playoffs. If we can play well early in this game then we should set ourselves up for a win.”

Escambia County defeated the Spartans in last season’s match up coming away with a 27-6 win at Herbert Barnes Stadium.

This year’s game could be much closer with the Spartans having a year of experience under their belt from 2010’s inaugural season.

Friday’s game will be a test, Heaton said.

“They are a much improved team,” he said. “They have come a long way from last year, but they have had the injury bug hit just like we have. They have had to move some guys around and put their fullback at tailback. He ran for more than 200 yards against Gulf Shores, so they are much better. If we can play mistake free then we will be in good shape against them.”

The Blue Devils have been a second-half team throughout the season, but the players and coaches are working on improving play in the first two quarters.

Finding ways to improve mentality has been important, Heaton said.

“We’re trying to do little things at practice to get our kids mentally prepared for the beginning of the game. We make adjustments and prepare ourselves at halftime, so we have been a second-half team all season. It’s time for us to get fast starts to keep ourselves competitive in these big games. The key to this game will be how well we play in the first half. If we come out of the gate and get things moving then we should be in a great spot to win.”

The Blue Devils and Spartans kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday night in Saraland.