The Florala Wildcats (5-6) saw their season come to an end on Friday in the first round of the playoffs, but the Wildcats laid the foundations for continued success.

“I’m so proud of this team,” Florala head coach Scott Mason said. “Considering everything that we’ve been through this year, this team could have easily given up, but they didn’t. They came a long way this year.”

Florala started the year with a win before injuries and a tough schedule knocked them down to 1-5.

“We came out smoking and then the injuries set in,” Mason said. “On top of the injuries, we played five top five teams in a row either in Class 1A or 3A and we hung in there with them. At one point, we had 11 starters out that had to be replaced. It took us another couple of weeks once we got them back to really get rolling again.”

Mason said that the kids really enjoyed this season.

“The kids love this type of offense,” Mason said. “Through 10 regular season games, we were the leading scorer in the region and the kids think that is pretty cool.”

In high school football, Mason said the hardest part about ending the year is watching your seniors move on.

“My 12 seniors bought in from the first day,” Mason said. “This group has laid the foundation for the younger kids to enjoy. Guys like Dylan Hobby, Justin Paul, Nealand Stone, Leroy Mitchell and Caleb Wood have done so much for this program. The future is bright in Florala.”