After a convincing win against Lawrence County on Sept. 6, the Blue Devils took a trip to the coast to face the St. Martin Yellowjackets last Friday.

St. Martin got off to a fast start and scored 14 points in the first quarter while keeping PRC off the board.

However, the last three quarters of the game were close, with the Blue Devils clawing their way back into the game. The team was nearly able to complete the comeback, but ended up short with the game ending 41-28 in favor of St. Martin. Head Coach Jacob Owens said that his team brought the necessary intensity, but there were certain aspects of the game that let the team down.

“The effort was pretty good, and we played hard,” Owen said. “But we had trouble tackling in space. When we get our hands on people we’ve got to bring them down.”

The game was played at St. Martin, and the home field advantage meant that the Blue Devils went into the game with some obstacles.

Owen said that even with the hostile environment, his players dealt with the pressure.

“We handled it very well we did something new, and checked out early to eat our pregame meal on the way,” Owen said. “I thought our players and booster club did a very good job of handling that adjustment, and we had a good trip.”

Even with a boisterous crowd, PRC was able to move the ball well offensively on the ground.

Ronald Murray had over 100 rushing yards, and Owen said that wasn’t initially the plan for the offense.

“Going into the game, based on film, there weren’t going to be many opportunities for Ronald to have the ball,” Owen said. “But they ended up coming out in defense a lot more friendly for him, and he took advantage of it.”

With the Blue Devils on a bye this week, the team won’t play another game until September 27, an away contest at Pascagoula. The Blue Devils will likely lean on the run game again when they face off against the Panthers.