Escambia Academy will meet a physical second-ranked Bessemer Academy this Friday night at home.

The Cougars are coming off a tough 41-34 loss to top-ranked Autauga Academy last week. During the loss, EA had an answer for every AA score until the Generals sealed the win with a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Even though the Cougars (6-3) lost to AA last week, they will be hosting the first round of the AISA Class 2A state playoffs against Evangel Christian.

Bessemer beat Edgewood 48-6.

EA head football coach Hugh Fountain said the Rebels (8-1) are physical on both sides of the ball.

“They’re big, they’ve got size,” Fountain said. “They kind of play different styles of football.”

Some stand out players for BA include Jeremy Jones at defensive end; Noah Wilder at linebacker; and those who play up front on offense.

Fountain said the team learned a lot from last week’s loss.

“We’ve just got to get back to the little things,” he said. “You’ve got to win those games. We played hard, but we felt like we could do better — no doubt about that.”

Kick off against BA is at 7 p.m.