“Take it easy, take it easy;

Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy;

Lighten up while you still can;

Don’t even try to understand;

Just find a place to make your stand, and take it easy.”

These familiar lyrics on “Take It Easy” by the Eagles played in my mind during the past week as I made my way up and down Interstate 65 to and from Montgomery.

Over the past week or so, I ventured to the Capital City of Dreams, as it’s called, for a player of the year banquet and several rounds of state basketball action.

Escambia Academy ended its incredible season on Monday with a loss to Macon-East in the AISA Class 2A state championship.

But as I finished up my game story and this week’s B Section, which is our sports and education section, inside of Café Louisa on Cloverdale Road in Montgomery, I couldn’t help but think about the run the boys have had during the last two sports seasons.

EA won the state football championship last November, and made it to the state title game in basketball. That’s pretty awesome, if you think about it.

How many times does this happen?

I’m sure not often.

The Cougars, who finished 14-4 on the season, tried their best against a good Knights team in the championship.

ME, top-ranked for a reason, shot the ball well and played with a lot of speed, which was the motive of operandi for EA this season.

Even though the shots didn’t fall like they wanted, the Cougars held their heads high after the game. Some emotions played out on the players’ faces, but I could tell they were proud of what they accomplished.

Cougars coach Hugh Fountain reminded the team about what they had accomplished and how they had an opportunity to play for a state championship.

As I made my way back down Interstate 65, a few key words from the Eagles’ song rang true in my head — take it easy, take it easy.