It was a loss, but Water Valley head coach Brad Embry saw progress in their Week 1 loss to Eupora last Friday. The Blue Devils fell to the Eagles 13-7 and are looking to bounce back in their home opener this week when they host Coffeeville in the annual Railroad Rivalry game (7 p.m., 105.5 FM).

Even though the result on the scoreboard was not ideal, Embry noticed a lot of positives out of his team and it was reinforced when going back over the game film last weekend.

“There were some execution problems and you’re going to have those Game 1,” Embry said. “You just don’t want it to become an issue that lingers. Maybe we’ll get it fixed this week. I hope so. …it’s things that we can do for sure. We do them in practice then you got to do them many times in a game, correctly.”

One positive was the passing game. Water Valley (0-1) racked up 108 yards in the air, all from senior quarterback Ty Varner. The two recipients of his passes were Martavious Rockette (62 yards) and Javon Morgan (46). Rockette had the lone score with a 21-yard catch. The ground game is still a work in progress, running for only 70 yards total against Eupora.

“We did some things good. We just have to be more consistent there,” Embry said. “Everybody only looks at one portion or one person when you throw the ball, but it’s a combination.”

Another group that showed improvement after 48 minutes had past last Friday night was the Blue Devil defense. Following a first half performance where they gave up 13 points to Eupora, the defense did not allow another point to be scored the final two quarters. It could be another good week for the defense as they face Coffeeville (0-1) who were held scoreless in a 43-0 loss to Calhoun City in their season opener.

“(Coffeeville) is athletic,” Embry said. “Being in closes proximity we play those guys in football and basketball every year. We got to be sound. Be in the right position, defensive. Don’t let them turn the corner because if they do we won’t catch them.”