AP Focuses On Having Fun In Tonight's Season Finale

AVON PARK - It isn't easy to have your dreams in your grasp, only to see them dashed in an instant.
The hardest part should be moving on from such a turn of events, but the Avon Park Red Devils football team is as resilient as it is tough.

AP head coach Earnest Perkins and his staff have had their share of ups and downs this season - with only one win to show for all their hard work - yet the young Red Devils were still knocking on the door to the playoffs.
"We never thought for one minute that we would be in that position," the second-year head coach said. "We played a really good game, but we just faced a team that was better than us that night."

A win over archrival Sebring and the impossible would have been possible for the Red Devils - they would have been in the playoffs after Hardee lost 17-0 to Class 3A-District 12 champion DeSoto.
But the Blue Streaks played the role of spoilers to perfection, with senior tailback T.J. Williams running up, around and through the Avon Park defense for 166 yards and two touchdowns and threw for another score, as Sebring won 36-14.

After a somber bus ride back to high school, Perkins knew exactly what to say to the kids who felt they'd let a golden opportunity slip away.
"Wait until next year," the AP skipper said.

Next year seems so far away but with only eight seniors graduating, the Red Devils have much to look forward to.

"Last year, I graduated 28 and brought back eight," Perkins said. "This year, I'm losing eight and bringing back 30, plus a nice bunch of junior varsity players that I believe will fit right in."
Although the loss was tough to swallow, Perkins feels that the loss to Sebring will reap benefits next season.

"I believe the kids will be more dedicated in the offseason," Perkins said. "Every program I have taken over, the third year is the charm.

"In the first year, I had kids from the previous coach, and this year I had my kids, but they were still young and inexperienced. Next year, I'll have my kids and they'll be experienced and even hungrier than they were this season."

Any lingering effects from the Sebring loss were not evident during practice, as they Red Devils hit with intent, ran with a purpose and laughed when the time was right in preparation for tonight's season finale against Palmetto.

The physical rivalry game has left the Red Devils banged up, with Virgil Cooper and Teddy Allen unlikely to play due to various injuries.

That means many fresh faces will get a chance to play, while some players will switch positions to give the coaching staff a sense of what they can do to improve for next season.

"We respect Palmetto as a football team," Perkins said. "But we plan to let it all hang out tonight - just play football and whatever happens happens.
"You may even see David Copperfield out on the field. You never know."