BAKER — Senior Night at Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium boasted another shutout for the Baker Gators, giving the dominant team their first 10-0 regular season since 2013.
“Hopefully we’re hitting our stride getting into the playoffs,” said coach Matt Brunson, who used the rout of Liberty County as an opportunity to extend the depth of his bench and rest his starters after an early lead.
“A very athletic Cottondale team is coming in (to Baker) as a district runner-up,” said Brunson, mentioning that they’ll have to contain the Hornets’ star running back in senior Javontai Hall, who has 2,285 rushing yards on the season, including 300 yards in Cottondale’s 36-49 loss to Graceville the previous week.
After winning their fourth straight district title the week before, the Gators are hungry for more than a perfect regular season, coming just two games short of a state championship the year before.
“We’ve got a great group of young men who play very unselfish, and the success we’ve enjoyed is just a testament to how hard those guys prepare,” said Brunson, who was happy to see his seniors go 10-0 after their families joined them on the field in the pre-game.
With 19 seniors on the roster, a win at state would be a nice graduation present.
Baker plays their regional semi-final game 7:30 p.m. on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at home against Cottondale.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Perfection isn’t enough