With the playoffs out of the picture, the Escambia County Blue Devils are playing for pride and a .500 winning percentage in their final two games.

This week, the Blue Devils (3-5, (2-4) will host the Monroe County Tigers in their final region battle of the season. The game will be a special one for the Blue Devils, who are holding homecoming and welcoming back a large crowd of alumni.

The Tigers (0-8, 0-6) come into the match up seeking their first win of the season against a Blue Devils team that is trying to avoid a losing season.

When preparing for this game, Blue Devils head coach Mark Heaton said he expressed to his players the need to finish the season strong.

“The kids need to hang in there and fight through the next two weeks,” he said. “We need to puck up this last region win against a hungry Monroe County team. We want to play with some pride and win this for our community and try to bounce back from a disappointing season.”

Despite being winless this season, the Tigers come in with a chip on their shoulder after falling in some close games. Three of their games have been decided by seven points or less with those losses coming to Saraland (14-7), B.C. Rain (13-6) and Excel (6-0).

With those close losses on their resume, the Tigers are nothing to overlook in this week’s game against ECHS, Heaton said.

“Even though they are 0-8, we still need to be on our toes and ready for a fight,” he said. They were right there in some of their games, but just couldn’t get the job done. We need to be prepared, so we don’t give them their first win.”

Offensively, the Blue Devils will be looking to stop a running game with the Tigers having several backs that will get carries in the game.

Making tackles and holding their backs to minimal gains will be a key for the Blue Devils’ defense, Heaton said.

“They have downhill running backs that will try to wear us out,” he said. “We’ll need to contain them and make stops, so they don’t have the opportunity to create big plays.”

On the other side of the ball, the Blue Devils’ offense will have to show their athletes are better than Monroe County’s.

Watching for mistakes to create big plays will be the important match up for the offense to win, Heaton said.

“Defensively, they are full of athletes,” he said. “They will be able to make some plays and fly to the ball. We just have to keep an eye out for tendencies, so we can capitalize and make something happen.”

Earning a win in this game will go a long way towards showing the fight that is left in the Blue Devils.

Proving they still want to win will be go a long way in overcoming a tough season, Heaton said.

“It’s all about the pride that they take in what they do,” he said. “Fighting through this adversity to finish strong will show the character that these young men have.”

The Blue Devils and Tigers kick off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Herbert Barnes Stadium.