Hornets seek first win

The Cottondale Hornets will take another shot at picking up their first win Friday night in Niceville against winless Rocky Bayou.

The Hornets (0-6) are coming off of a bye week, following a 53-14 Homecoming loss to Jefferson County.

Cottondale coach Mike Melvin said the time off has been good for his team.

“The open week came at a great time for us,” the coach said. “We got everyone healed up and well. We had a good open week. Even being out of school the first of this week, we had two good practices.

“It’s going to be a long road trip, but we’re excited to get back out and play under the lights again.”

The loss to Jefferson County put Cottondale at 0-2 in district, so if the Hornets have any hopes of getting back into the district race, they’ll need to win Friday night and win again against arch-rival Graceville Nov. 6.

The time may never be better for the Hornets against a Rocky Bayou team that has lost its last four games by an average of 52 points.

“This is a good chance to get a win,” Melvin said. “It’s a district game, so we want to go over there and play hard, cut down on silly mistakes and try to get the job done.”

Melvin said his team has handled the losing admirably this season, maintaining a positive attitude and a strong work ethic.

“It has really not been hard (to keep the team focused),” the coach said. “The guys have had great attitudes. We really haven’t had to fight that at all.

“They’ve been there and going hard at practice. That hasn’t been an uphill battle at all. The guys have really worked hard all year.”

The Hornets opened the season with a good showing in a road loss to Marianna.

However, the team was hit by a flu bug, which it battled for several weeks, losing to Franklin County, Maclay and FAMU before finally getting healthy again.

Melvin said that was difficult for his team to overcome.

“That really put us three weeks behind,” the coach said.  That was a tough, difficult time for us. We worked to try to get better each week, but not having the same kids out there every day made it hard to get better. It put us way behind.

“It’s been a challenging season. If you look at the games, that really has no reflection on what the team was going through Monday through Thursday.

“The kids did their best to fight through it, but it was definitely a challenge for them.”

Although it has been a trying year, Melvin said there’s still time to salvage the season.

“Now is the chance to get better,” the coach said. “We want the seniors to go out winning. We just have to work hard, keep our heads up and stay positive.”