By By Matthew Nascone
The Escambia Academy Cougars will look to put the pieces back together after what head coach Heath Gibson called a disappointing loss to Wilcox Academy last week on Homecoming.
The Cougars (4-4, 2-4) are out of the playoff picture following the loss and Gibson said he has one thing on his mind.
"We just want to end the season with a winning record," he said. "That would be a good way to salvage the season. We usually have a senior meeting after the eighth week of the season and this year that meeting was not focused on how to get ready for the playoffs. We tried to rally them together and tell them that not to waste the two weeks they have left. Go out there and have fun."
Marion comes into the game having struggled in their first season as a merged school. Before the season Marion Military Institute merged with Marion Academy to form what is now called Marion Schools. Gibson said this merger was an effort to gain more students for the athletic programs, but the merger has resulted in a 1-7 overall record.
"We should be able to run the football at them and play our game," Gibson said. "We had a good day of practice on Monday and we want to win this game to gain momentum going into our final game of the season against Faith. But we will have to watch out for Marion because they like to run different defensive sets to confuse their opponents."
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Friday in Marion. Before the Cougars set out for the game they will be treated to a black light pep rally put on by the varsity cheerleaders at 12:30 p.m.