Escambia County trailed 18-0 in the first quarter and couldn’t recover in a 26-2 loss to Williamson for homecoming tonight.

“We weren’t prepared to play,” ECHS head football coach Royce Young said. “We basically gave them 18 points. Then, we shut them down the next two-and-a-half quarters.”

The Blue Devils coughed up the ball three times in the first half, but managed to get a safety with 1:55 left in the second when Nimisis Silar pounded through the front line and tackled the Lions quarterback in the end zone.

The halftime score ended up being the final score of the game as the Blue Devils committed some penalties in the final 24 minutes to back up any drive.

“We’re supposed to teach these guys to have discipline and to handle distraction,” Young said. “I didn’t do enough of a good job to do that.”

A couple of the Lions’ scores in the first half came as a result of missed tackles.

Young said it’s hard to explain.

“We practice by the same rules,” he said. “We have a limited time this day in age. We’re only allowed to have contact so many days a week.”

Young said tonight’s game was a huge set back.

“It’s my job to get them prepared in light of all of the activities around,” he said.

While the loss was tough, Young said the crowd that turned out for the game was good.

“I appreciate the people in Atmore for coming,” he said. “We had a huge crowd. I’m very disappointed we couldn’t give a better ending on the night. It was nice to see so many people come back.”