A turnover in overtime still sits in the minds of the Escambia Academy Cougars. A fumble against the Patrician Academy Saints gave the Saints a 34-28 win over the Cougars and the inside track to a region championship.

A month later, the Cougars get another shot at the Saints, this time in Butler, but also for a trip to the AISA Class AA championship, which is next week in Troy.

This week’s game marks the second time in three seasons that the Cougars have reached not only the playoffs, but the semifinal round of the playoffs. Two years ago, the Cougars were young and inexperienced in that respect, but this time around, they bring experience and the knowledge that they can keep pace with their opponent.

Despite there being such a big prize at the end of a victory, the Cougars are taking their preparations day-by-day and focusing on the game itself, head coach Heath Gibson said.

“We are just focusing on the rematch,” he said. “It was such a close game last time we played that we just have our minds keyed in on the rematch. We see a lot of areas in the game where we can execute better to try and take advantage. I’m sure they are looking at the same things, but I think we have gotten so much better than that week that hopefully, we can make better strides than them.”

WIth that loss behind them, the Cougars have improved each week and have attempted to put turnovers behind them.

After scoring 62 points last week, the Cougars are where they need to be moving into this game, Gibson said.

“Offensively, we are finally getting our stride,” he said. “We had two turnovers in that first game that really hurt with one being a fumble on the two in overtime. Hopefully, we’ll hang onto the ball this time around and come away with a big victory in the turnover department. If we do that and keep our penalty yardage down then it puts us in a good place.”

In order to make sure practice and preparation go as planned, the Cougars are maintaining a cool head.

Treating the game like any regular season matchup is the way the coaching staff is avoiding distraction, Gibson said.

“I think our biggest thing is preaching that it’s just another ball game,” he said. “We know it’s the semifinals, but we just want to focus on getting a win, so we can breathe if we make it another week. We just want to take care of it one game at a time.”

The Saints bring a tough challenge to the match up with larger players being their advantage.

Playing speed for speed is good for the Cougars, but stopping power will be the tough task, Gibson said.

“Their size really presents a challenge,” he said. “They are going to run the Wing-T and try to run that clock. That’s why the three-and-outs are going to be important in this game.”

In order to come away with a victory, the Cougars must get the Saints offense off of the field.

Forcing three punts will be huge in terms of success, Gibson said.

“I feel like it will be a possession game,” he said. “If we can get three three-and-outs by our defense then we can win this game.”

The Cougars and Saints kick off Friday at 7 p.m. at Patrician Academy in Butler.