By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Fumbles gave Escambia County High’s (ECHS’s) football team the early momentum last Friday (October 11) in a Class 4A, Region 1 road game at W.S. Neal (WSN), and fumbles yanked that momentum away.
ECHS took an early lead in the intra-county matchup with the neighboring Blue Eagles but turned the ball over three times — including once on the kickoff following a Neal score and once on the first play after a kickoff — and were swamped 53-13.
After a scoreless first period, ECHS got on the board with a 45-yard drive that paid dividends when quarterback Jamarion Robinson connected with Tai Henderson on a 2-yard third-down touchdown pass with 10 minutes left in the half.
Isaac Manzano’s PAT kick made it 7-0, a lead that would vanish 3 minutes later.
It was a night of missed opportunities for the ECHS offense. Jeremiah Brown recovered a loose ball to stymy one Blue Eagles drive in the first half, and Dallas Owens came up with a fumble that gave ECHS the ball at the WSN 19-yard line.
The Blue Devils were unable to put the ball into the end zone, though, and turned it over on downs. Neal began to take control of the contest at that point.
“We need to punch it in when we get in the red zone,” said ECHS Coach Vincent Harris.
ECHS was able to stay close over the remainder of the first half, which ended with Neal on top by just 9 points after Robinson ran in from the 1-yard line to make it 22-13. That marked the final time ECHS’s side of the scoreboard would change.
“Jamorian Robinson played a pretty decent game,” Harris said of his signal-caller.
An inability to move the ball against a stiff WSN defense set up one second-quarter Neal scoring drive, and another Blue Devils fumble set up the other first-half score.
Things looked good as the second half started. An ECHS punt pinned the Blue Eagles at their own 10-yard line. Momentum swung WSN’s way again, as a Neal runner broke free on a 90-yard TD sprint on the first play after the punt.
The second ECHS fumble led to Neal points, and the third was on the kickoff after WSN had put more points on the board. The Blue Eagles poured it on in the second half, scoring 24 points in the third period and another TD in the fourth.
The Blue Devils will host Satsuma in their homecoming game this Friday, October 18. The Gators are 3-4 overall, 0-4 in region play. ECHS is 2-6 overall, 0-5 within the region.
“Satsuma is a decent football team, even though their record doesn’t show it,” said Harris.
Friday’s game time is 7 p.m. at Herbet Barnes Stadium. Admission is $10; parking is free. A large home crowd is expected, as Blue Devils fans have followed the team to all its road games this year, including trips to Montgomery, Mobile and Orange Beach.
“The crowd was good at Neal,” said the ECHS coach. “I appreciate the support we’ve had all year.”