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Winning the one on one match ups and space are the two big keys for Escambia County this Friday as the Blue Devils travel to face Hillcrest-Evergreen.

The Blue Devils are coming off a 46-0 Class 4A, Region 1 victory over Monroe County.

Senior quarterback Jacob Hammac was 18-of-24 for 322 yards and two touchdowns and an interception to lead ECHS. Craig Brown had 10 carries for 49 yards and two touchdowns; and Allen Patterson had four receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns. The Blue Devils tallied 520 yards of total offense in the win.

Head football coach Scott Mason said the Jaguars look big, fast and athletic.

“They’ll put a lot of pressure on you,” Mason said Sunday after film study. “They come at you and try to top the run.”
Line play wise, Mason said HHS is the best the team will face all season.

“Up front, they’re as good as anybody we’ll see,” he said. “The linebackers are young, but good and fast and very aggressive. We’re going to have to play sound and solid football to move the ball on them.”
Mason added that this week during practice, the team is focusing on opening and speeding things up further, and “trying to use what advantages and exploiting what few holes there are.”

Mason said winning the one on one match ups is crucial during the game this week.

“We’ve got to throw the ball in tight windows, and we can’t afford drops,” he said.

Last week, HHS defeated W.S. Neal 47-0.

During the win over MCHS, the Blue Devils returned one punt for a touchdown.

“We completed three passes over 50 yards, and we are catching the ball much better,” the coach said. “Jacob is getting more comfortable with his receivers and they are learning how to run routes.”

Mason said the team is a little banged up with injuries, but that’s to be expected.

“We have to get better run blocking and had some let downs on defense,” he said. “Our tackling wasn’t up to our normal high mark. We plan to work on both this week.”