HIT THE ROAD RUNNING: Wildcats hope to knock off Red Level
Published 12:05 am Wednesday, October 3, 2018
- Florala and Red Level square off Friday in Florala. Josh Dutton/Star-News
The Florala Wildcats (1-5) hope to get things back on track as they host the Red Level Tigers (4-1) on Friday for homecoming.
“We are looking forward to it,” Florala head coach Scott Mason said. “The past few weeks we have just been trying to get healthy and we are about three-quarters of the way there. This we’ve gone back to the basics and just making sure we aren’t doing too much bumping and banging.”
Mason said that they’ve been working on fine tuning their offense.
“We just want them to understand exactly what we are doing and doing it the right way,” Mason said. “It’s homecoming week, but the guys are very focused. With teams like we’ve been playing, we’ve just been trying to figure out what we’ve done wrong, what’s been working and what can we do to improve. This week is all about fine tuning.”
This week, Mason said practice has been going well.
“So far this week things have been good,” Mason said. “They really enjoy what we do and that helps us that the kids like to play in this offense. They like the chess match part of it and that keeps them engaged. It’s easy to keep them up and focused.”
Mason said that he has been proud of the way his players have played this year.
“We’ve been so beat up this year,” Mason said. “We’ve had to rely on a lot of younger guys to fill in for guys who are out. With the types of teams that we’ve been playing, there hasn’t been a lot of time to learn. We’ve had to depend on ninth and tenth graders and they have had to grow up fast. I’m so proud of the way the younger guys have played. They’ve reacted really well and I’ve been very pleased with their effort. They know that we are on the verge of the playoffs.”
Mason said he wants to encourage people to come out to this week’s game.
“It’s homecoming week and I hope everyone comes out to watch,” Mason said. “Come out, buy a ticket and get something to eat. I expect it’s going to be a good game. Red Level is a much improved team. Coach (Kenny) Skipper has done a great job over there.”
It’s a big game for both teams as they return the Class 1A, Region 2 play.
Florala needs to pick up the win in order to keep their playoff hopes alive.
A win for Red Level would put them in the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Florala and Red Level are set to kick off at 7 p.m., in Florala.