Blue Devils close out with Baldwin Friday

Published 5:50 pm Tuesday, October 25, 2011

With no playoffs to prepare for, the Escambia County Blue Devils will look to close their season on a high note this Friday when they take on the Baldwin County Tigers at Herbert Barnes Stadium.

The Blue Devils (4-5, 3-4) will celebrate senior night before the game and then do their best to come away with the fifth win of the season.

The Tigers (1-8, 1-6) have had trouble finding success this season with their lone win coming against the winless Satsuma Gators on Oct. 14.

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Despite the record of the Tigers, Blue Devils head coach Mark Heaton said he is telling his team not take them lightly this week.

“Baldwin County is still playing hard,” he said. “Coach (Bobby) Moore is doing a great job with that team, so our team needs to be ready to play. We have had some ups and downs, but our guys are ready to go into this game and finish the season strong.”

On offense, the Tigers will do several different things to move the ball down the field.

The Blue Devils defense will need to be prepared for the ball to go to different players most of the game, Heaton said.

“They do a good job of spreading the ball out,” he said. “They tend to balance things out on offense, but they will air the ball out to open up the running game.”

When ECHS is on offense, they will see a defense that they tend to see in practice.

The Tigers run a similar scheme to the Blue Devils and look for big plays, Heaton said.

“Defensively, they will look similar to us,” he said. “They will use their defense to try and come up with big plays against us.”

Along with the game, the senior members of the football team, volleyball, team cheerleaders, ROTC and band will be honored prior to the kick off.

The community is asked to come out and give these seniors a great recognition, Heaton said.

“It’s senior night, so we want the community to come out,” he said. “This is the last time some of our football players will play a down of football. For others, it is the last time they get to take part in the football game, so we want the community and family members to come out and support these students. This is to recognize and honor them for their hard work.”

The Blue Devils and Tigers kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Herbert Barnes Stadium in Atmore. Senior night begins at 6:35 p.m.