Blue Devils feel well prepared for state championship

Walking up to Pahokee’s football field is an instant reminder of the program’s past success — the Blue Devils play in Anquan Boldin Stadium.

The 2016 Blue Devils (13-0) may join that tradition with a victory in the Class 1A state t i t l e g a me a g a i nst Baker (13-0) at 1 p.m. Thursday in Orlando. It would be the seventh championship in school history.

“I kind of told everybody that anything short of a Muck Bowl and a state championship would be a little disappointing to me,” Pahokee coach Orson Walkes said during a conference call with the media Monday.

The Blue Devils accomplished the first step of securing supremacy in the Glades, winning the Muck Bowl for the first time in eight years by beating Glades Central 27-14.

“(We) went eight years without a Muck Bowl,” Walkes said. “Around here ... that’s almost unheard of. It was almost like torture.”

Baker also has a rich foot- ball tradition, with four state titles.

The Gat o r s l a s t won a championship in 1993, while the Blue Devils won their last in 2008.

Tough schedule

Walkes said Monday that he thinks the competition the Blue Devils have played in the postseason prepared them well for the state title game.

“Nothing against Baker, but (I) kind of feel like we’ve played the top-tier teams in the classification already,” he said. “There’s a reason they’re undefeated, though, and in the state championship game.”

The Blue Devils played the No. 1 team (Madison County), No. 3 team (Trenton) and No. 4 team (Newberry) in the final Associated Press Class 1A poll and defeated all three.

Pahokee was ranked second in that poll.

“As they say, to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man,” Walkes said.