The Andalusia Bulldogs (3-3, 1-2) look to continue their strong start to the second half of the season as they prepare to host Williamson (4-1, 2-1) tonight in Andalusia.

“From a talent standpoint, they match up with anybody we’ve played,” Andalusia head coach Trent Taylor said. “They only have about 37 players on the roster, and that’s about what they had last year as a 5A school. They knew when they showed up in August they wouldn’t have a lot of players, but that doesn’t seem to bother them. The ones they have out there are the kids that want to be there.”

Taylor said that Williamson has been a historical hotbed of talent with players like Jamarcus Russell and Nick Fairley graduating from the school. Russell, a former first round pick, now serves as the team’s quarterback coach.

“They are tremendously talented at the skill positions,” Taylor said. “They do a lot of different things. You think of a trick play, and they have run it and had success. Most might think that if you do so many different things that you are not going to be real good at any of them, but that is not the case here. They are well coached and they are very good at the things they do. They have a freshman that plays quarterback, running back, linebacker, defensive line and he is also on every special teams play. He is probably the most talented freshman I’ve ever seen play the game. He plays like guys that play on Saturdays. He is a very talented young man. There are others, but he is the one that jumps off the screen at you. He is impressive to watch.”

The Bulldogs have continued to have good practices this week, Taylor said.

“Practice has been good this week,” Taylor said. “I’ll be honest with you, the last three weeks our kids have been focused. We had a little lull yesterday. I think the heat probably got to us a little bit. Not that we aren’t accustomed to that, but we got after it pretty good on Monday and Tuesday. Toward the end of practice yesterday you could tell. I reminded them that focus isn’t a sometimes thing it’s got to be all the time. We’ve got to be what we want to be and we’ve got to find a way to lock in and finish practice with the same intensity that we started practice with.”

Taylor said that defense with have to mentally and physically aware while on the field.

“It’s been a challenge,” Taylor said. “Like I said, they do so many things offensively that it’s as much a mental deal as it is a physical deal. With that said, you better play physical because Williamson is darn sure going to come at you.”

On offense, Taylor said the Bulldogs need to keep progressing.

“Offensively, we are just trying to improve on the things that I think the last couple of weeks have shown improvement,” Taylor said. “We have some young people in some key positions. There isn’t a whole lot we can do about that, but they are getting older everyday. The important thing is I think they are getting challenged at practice and doing things that make them think on their feet.”

This will be the first ever meeting between Andalusia and Williamson.

Kickoff between Andalusia and Williamson is set for 7 p.m., tonight at Andalusia Municipal Stadium.

Prior to kickoff at 6:30 p.m., Andalusia will honor their senior football players, band members and cheerleaders.