Cougars football playoff match set
Published 10:55 pm Monday, October 22, 2012
According to the Alabama Independent School Association (AISA), the Escambia Academy Cougars will travel to Tuscaloosa to face the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights for their first-round playoff game on Nov. 2.
The Cougars will enter the playoffs as the fourth seed from the region II district of class AAA under the AISA classification. Meanwhile, Tuscaloosa Academy enters as the top seed from the region I district of class AAA.
Currently, the Knights are ranked no. 3 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association high school football poll for the AISA classification and boast a 9-0 overall record. However, they will enter the playoff game on the heels of what figures to be a grueling match with the no. 2 ranked AISA team, Monroe Academy.
The Cougars will enter the game by squaring off against a playoff-caliber team of their own when they face the fourth seed team from region I, Macon-East, on the road.
Tuscaloosa Academy defeated Macon-East earlier this season by a final score of 48-14.
Escambia Academy and Tuscaloosa Academy have only played each other once before. In 2005, the two teams squared off appropriately enough, in the first round of the playoffs.
While the 7-3 Cougars entered as the top seed and a heavy favorite over the 5-5 Knights, the Knights came out as a 49-21 winner at Bachelor Field.
The Knights set a school record earlier this season when they scored 69 points in defeating Lyman Ward 69-21. Overall, the team is averaging an impressive 46.8 points per game.
The Cougars will likely need a standout performance from their defense, which is averaging an impressive 17.0 points allowed per game this season.