Verbena fought hard in front of a homecoming crowd, but lost 26-0 to Francis Marion.

The Red Devils (0-8, 0-6) remain winless on the season, but the effort continues to be on display.

Defensivly and in the running game are two phases of the game where the Red Devils continue to show signs improvement.

Senior Trevor Hilyer had several determined runs, where he pushed the pile or carried defenders past the first down marker.

He was the focal point of the offense and the Red Devils leaned on him as such.

On defense, missed tackles created some problems by allowing Francis Marion to extend plays, but the continued pursuit to the ball by Verbena helped make up for it at times.

Verbena only trailed 6-0 heading into the halftime break, as the defense stood tall and prevented Francis Marion from tacking on any more points at the end of the second quarter.

However, the offense could not manufacture any points in the second half, and Francis Marion eventually opened up its lead for good.

Senior Jonathan Bryant started the game at quarterback for the Red Devils.

Verbena has wrapped up its region schedule and will turn its attention to a non-region matchup on the road against Autaugaville Oct. 27.