Andalusia expects non-region test against Pace, Florida
Published 2:45 pm Wednesday, September 18, 2024
Andalusia (2-2) will remain home and look to extend its winning streak to three games with a matchup against Pace, Florida (2- 1) on Friday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.
This will be the fifth meeting between the Bulldogs and Patriots. The two teams are tied 2-2 in the all-time series that began in 1983.
“I don’t mean this with any kind of negativity toward Enterprise who has a really good football team, but Pace may be the best team on our schedule. They are certainly the biggest school on our schedule and will be a challenge,” Head Coach Trent Taylor said. “After having an opportunity to watch them on film, we see how hard they play. We need to be aware of the tenacity in which they play and learn from that. We will compete and give our best effort Friday night to see if it’s enough to walk away with a victory.”
Last week, Andalusia rallied from a 24-point deficit in the first quarter and posted a 26-24 homecoming win over Greenville. Pace earned a 55-0 shutout win against Gulf Breeze.
Taylor said he was proud of his team for never giving up in earning a second straight region win.
“I was more impressed by how we handled the whole halftime deal. When things aren’t exactly going the way you want them to go, it’s really easy to get frustrated. We didn’t have any of that and told them to play one possession at the time. We had a lot of positive things, and it’s easy to show up on Monday and get a little complacent. As coaches, we have to address the complacency and what we must do as a team going forward,” he said.
Taylor added that one focus must be on limiting mistakes at the midway point of the regular season.
“We made some mistakes and turned the ball over a couple of times. We took some missteps whether it was offensively or defensively but are putting a lot of stock on sophomores and some juniors who didn’t play much football last year. I’d love to be 4-0, but I think we learned some things about ourselves the first two games. Consequently, that has allowed us to play at a higher level the last two weeks.”
The Bulldogs defeated the Patriots at home, 35-0, in their previous matchup in 1986.