By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

The Southside High School Panthers football team will play its final game of the season at home and is hoping it can end on a high note and send the fans home with a smile.

The Panthers (1-8, 1-6) will play Choctaw County (2-7, 1-6) Friday at 7 p.m. Panthers head coach Bertrum Crum said his team is looking to find something that will help them in the future.

“The main thing I want to focus and concentrate on going into the last game is eliminate mental mistakes and find something positive to build on in the future,” Crum said.

The Panthers have been focusing on the mental and strategic aspect of the game in practice.

“We’re working on sustaining focus mentally and carrying out individual assignments,” Crum said.

Crum said the team has to correct mistakes, such as those in the secondary, which hurt in last week’s 50-26 loss at Holt.

“I think if we eliminate the mental mistakes early in the game and the physical mistakes, we’ll be okay,” Crum said. “Last week we had a couple mental mistakes, blown coverages that set the tone for the game. If we can eliminate mistakes like that we’ll be okay.”

Crum said a win Friday night would mean a lot to his team, which is filled with players who are getting their first game experience of their high school careers this season.

Crum said a win would also help the Panthers continue moving toward their long-term goal.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are 11th graders in the classroom, but are freshmen on the field,” Crum said. “What a win would do for us Friday would help us to reach our goal of being one of the best teams in the state of Alabama.”