The Prince Edward County High School football team had hopes of the schedule giving the beleaguered team a bit of a break as the Eagles headed into the first of their final three games of the season last Friday night against Brunswick High School. The two teams had identical records. The schedule may have eased up a little, but some bad habits persisted in a 48-6 loss to the Bulldogs on homecoming night.

“Too many turnovers and too many penalties,” said PECHS head coach James Ford. “It was made more frustrating that many were fourth-and-long penalties that gave them first downs. On offense, it seemed that when we gained eight yards, we'd get a ten yard penalty. At times we couldn't get out of our own way.

“Brunswick is better than their record indicated, and we knew that going in. They're fast, and disciplined in the back seven. they use their linebackers and defensive backs really well, and they kept us from being able to hit big plays. We had to do a lot of dinking and dunking, but more plays meant more penalties and more opportunities for mistakes. Instead of second and two, we were facing first and 12. Entirely too much time behind the chains.”

How frustrating? Ford didn't need time to think of a perfect example.

“We had them fourth-and-eight at one point, and we jumped offsides twice. Another time, we had them fourth-and-12, and had a 15-yard facemask that gave them a first down on a play where we would've gotten the ball.”

That frustration led to a 36-0 hole by the time homecoming festivities began. PE's only bright spot was a drive in the third quarter than ended in a Davon Adams rushing touchdown.

“We started to get things going, but by then, we were in a running clock situation. By the time they started to substitute, we weren't in a position where we could maybe get something positive to take into the next week.”

Adams was 3-5 passing for 48 yards, while Cleon Watkins was 8-18 for 42 yards with two interceptions. Adams rushed ten times for 34 yards and the lone PE touchdown, while Jevon Jackson rushed nine times for 32 yards. Marquis Fitzgerald caught eight catches for 83 yards.

Defensively, Isaiah Davis led the Eagles with eight tackles, while Stephen Agnew had five tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

The Eagles will travel to Greensville this Friday in another game where both teams will be looking for some positive direction as the season winds down.

“They're big up front and have some speed in the backfield,” said Ford. “It will be two teams that are hungry for success. Hopefully, we will be able to come away with a good result going into our bye week. The record doesn't show how hard the guys have worked, and I'm sure they're thinking the same, so I expect that both teams will have some extra motivation as they get ready for Friday night.”