Pearl River Central’s Blue Devils faced off against the East Central Hornets last Friday and lost 35-0.

The loss dropped PRC to 1-5 in district play and 2-6 overall this season.

Head Coach Jacob Owen said the team’s preparation needs to be better when heading into a contest against a talented team like East Central.

“I have to do a better job of getting these kids ready to play and making sure they play with the appropriate amount of energy and passion. That responsibility falls on me,” Owen said.

Running backs Destin Coleman and Ty Herring shouldered the offensive load for PRC against the Hornets.

Coleman had 88-yards rushing on 14 carries and a 15-yard reception.

Meanwhile Herring had 92-yards on 16 carries with full back Eli Lavigne providing an option through the air for quarterback Cameron Brunson by hauling in a 20-yard reception.

Owen said the loss serves as a resource for lessons to be learned from moving forward.

“A loss is only a loss if you don’t learn from it. If you’re getting beat on the scoreboard and not learning every week, then you’re losing. If you’re learning, you’re finding a way to get better. I think some of our games we’ve gotten beat in this year have been great learning opportunities,” Owen said.

The game between East Central and PRC was one of the matchups that was still able to take place last Friday evening, even after the damage caused by Hurricane Zeta last week.

Playing after such an event was just another instance of this season being like no other as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on to couple with a very busy hurricane season.

Owen said this year has been about trial and error, along with a willingness from his players and staff to overcome adversity.

“Yeah it’s been a crazy year, full of adversity. I thought our kids adjusted to it and handled it quite well. Hindsight is always 20/20 when you look back and there are probably some things we could’ve done differently or could’ve done better, but there was no guidebook on how to handle those things. I thought our kids handled it with a great attitude,” Owen said.

The team will now prepare for its final game of the season, a home matchup against Gautier scheduled for Nov. 6.

Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.