By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

Following another difficult defeat on the road, the Ellwood Christian Academy Eagles football team returns home Friday night hoping homecoming will deliver its first victory of the season.

The Eagles (0-8, 0-5) will be home at Memorial Stadium when they play the Crenshaw Christian Academy Cougars (7-0, 4-0) Friday at 7 p.m.

Ellwood head football coach Mike Stokes said the Eagles should get a boost from homecoming night, but they’ll need more against a tough Crenshaw team.

“It’ll give them (Ellwood players) a little boost, but it’s going to be a rough one,” Stokes said. “I think they’re (Crenshaw) 7-0 and ranked number six in the state, so it’s going to be a rough one for our young kids. We’re just going to go out and play hard and just keep doing what we’re doing—keep working.”

Stokes said one of the first things you notice about the Cougars is their imposing size.

“They’re big and strong,” Stokes said. “They’ve got athletes and they’re fast. They’re an all-around team. If you make mistakes against them, they’ll make you pay for it.”

Stokes said the Eagles’ coaching staff is continuing to try and make things easier for the young team.

“We’re just continuing to do the things we’ve been doing, like I said before, we’ve downsized our playbook for the younger guys because we had so many young guys playing for us at one time, we had put a little too much out there for them to work on,” Stokes said.

Stokes said the Eagles will have to control the football and keep the Cougars’ deadliest weapon, their offense, off the field.

“We’ve got to be able to keep our offense on the field and keep their offense on the sideline,” Stokes said. “We’ve got to sustain some drives and get some first downs, and eat up as much of the clock as we can.”