By JOSH FRYE
News Sportswriter
Escambia County High played its final down of the 2020 season last Friday, October 30, against Flomaton High, closing out the season with a 37-0 loss to the Hurricanes, who vented their recent frustrations on the young Blue Devils.
Flomaton, which had to forfeit region contests to region rivals T.R. Miller and Hillcrest-Evergreen due to COVID-19 exposure, handed ECHS its sixth no-score loss of a 2-8 season.
A combination of little preparation time (due to Covid-19) and a lot of inexperience did the Blue Devils in. The team gained a little success earlier in the season with back-to-back victories against St. Michael Catholic and Monroe County High School, but those were to be the only ECHS wins.
According to head coach Scott Mason, the Blue Devils found their fair share of leaders and success.
Quarterbacks Anthony McCants and Jeremiah George settled in and found a rhythm as the season chugged along.
Senior leaders such as Wille Banks, Jacobey James, Tyson Moorer, Tyjerrious Malone, Keaundre Richardson, Aaron Calva, Dezmun Crenshaw and Calvin Nichols will be big losses from the ECHS roster next season.
“Friday night was a rough one,” Mason said. “Flomaton had a bigger, older and stronger team than we did, and we knew that going in. Many said the odds were against us this season, and we were crazy for fielding a team. But we wanted to let our kids play, even if we lost every game.”
Flomaton took advantage of the Blue Devils early last Friday and pounded the end zone until the final seconds of the fourth quarter.
Stats from Friday’s game were not available by Tuesday’s press deadline.
“We did some good things,” Mason said. “We knew this was going to be tough, but we had some good moments from younger players that have given us some hope for next season.”
According to Mason, the Blue Devils have not been “run off the field” this season by anyone, and one of its best performances this year was against playoff-bound Williamson, when ECHS registered an 8-0 loss on October 9.
“This has been one of the worst years that I have experienced as a football coach,” Mason said. “We have had so many things to overcome, and COVID has put a dent into every aspect of the game.”
Herbert Barnes Stadium grows quiet again until the opening night of the 2021 season. The Blue Devils closed out the season with a 2-8 overall record, a 1-5 mark in Class 4A, Region 1 play.