Cougars to aim for home playoff berth

Escambia Academy will be vying for a home playoff game opportunity this Friday night in a homecoming contest against Clarke Prep.

The Cougars are coming off of an open week as they head into the game.

EA head football coach Hugh Fountain said the game is quite important because it holds playoff ramifications.

“It carries home field ramifications for the playoffs,” Fountain said.

If EA beats CPS, then it will hold a top two spot in the region and a guaranteed home playoff berth.

CPS is 1-5 on the season with its only win coming against Patrician Academy. The Gators beat PA 43-42 on Sept. 15.

With it being homecoming week, the time leading up to the game can be a distraction for players and coaches alike.

Fountain said the players have got to understand that the most important day is Friday at 7 p.m.

“Homecoming has a lot of fun activities for the kids,” he said. “There will be the making of banners, and different functions at houses. There’s going to be a lot of suppers for the kids this week.”

Fountain said the off week last week was a good one, noting that he was worried about the team’s production.

He said the Cougars have gotten back to normal speed heading into the latter half of the week.

Additionally, even though the second-ranked Cougars are 7-0 this year, there’s still some work that needs to be done, discipline wise, Fountain said.

“We’ve won some big games this year, but in all reality, you want to get to to the ultimate goal of the season,” he said. “The key for us is to learn how to play with more self discipline. These last two games, we were highly penalized.”

Kick off Friday is at 7 p.m.