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The Walton Braves lost their first two games in 2024. Then, they rattled off six wins in their last seven regular-season games. It earned them a date in the playoffs with district champion Pensacola Catholic, a team the Braves had lost to 52-16 in the regular season.
Behind veteran quarterback Wells Bettenhausen and long-time head coach Keith White, Walton upset Catholic on the road to earn one of their biggest postseason wins in recent history.
Entering 2025, the Braves are riding high off a successful season, but are faced with the daunting task of replacing all 11 starters on offense. After White stepped down shortly after the season ended, it will now be first-year Walton head coach Jay Lindsey’s job to fill in the gaps.
Lindsey was an in-house hire for the Braves, as he had served as the program’s offensive coordinator the previous four seasons. The new head coach has a history of success, having won a regional championship amid five-straight playoff appearances in his previous stop at Tate.
Now, both a team and a coach with a tradition of success will pair as Walton and Lindsey attempt to reload in 2025.
Losing Wells Bettenhausen to graduation will certainly sting. Arguably the most prolific passer in the area, he threw for over 5,000 yards and 59 touchdowns with only 15 interceptions in his two-year Walton career.
Attempting to fill those shoes this season will be rising junior Whitton West. With only five varsity games under his belt, West will look to build on his seven completions for 151 yards from last season. Coach Lindsey describes him as a winner, a type of player you need to be successful. The first-year signal caller has been progressing well this offseason, with a promising outing in the spring game.
Like West, the athletes he’ll be throwing to will be brand new as well. Last year’s four main targets were Brayden Sampson, Dominic Goodwin, Dreden Bembow and Elijah Neenan. Having combined for 2,648 receiving yards in their senior seasons, the four will be tough to replace.
The most experienced returner at that position will be tight end Cale Hughes. In his three games, he reeled in three receptions for 61 yards and two touchdowns. After Hughes, this year’s wideouts will be ones who have not had their first taste of varsity football yet.
At the running back position, it is more of the same, as the Braves will hope to be able to replace their two starting backs from a year ago. Peyton Seay took the bulk of the load with 113 carries last season, and his since graduated. His backfield counterpart, Dylan Louthain, had 77 carries for seven scores, but transferred to back to Freeport earlier in the offseason.
There is a chance that defensive specialist Camden Zodrow could be trotted out to take carries for Walton this season, with rising sophomore Elijah Odom also bringing a little bit of experience into the 2025 season. Odom carried the ball six times for 36 yards in 2024. As the season unfolds, the development of the running back position will certainly be something to keep an eye on.
Oftentimes, challenges like the one Walton is facing are back-breaking. Losing all 11 offensive starters, especially after a magical finish to the previous season, is brutal. It is extremely rare for that to ever be the case in high school football, but it is now a reality that the Braves will have to deal with.
Instead of backing away, Lindsey and his team are facing this challenge head-on. The first-year coach is enjoying the prospect of solving this tricky personnel puzzle, and the mindset for the young team is to make a name for themselves. The young squad now has the opportunity to emerge as guys who can compete night in and night out.
With just a few weeks until regular-season football kicks off again in the Panhandle, it will be interesting to track the development of athletes who are getting their first starts after learning behind a veteran-led team.
It gets better for Walton on the defensive side as far as returners go. With two of their top three tacklers coming back for the 2025 season, the Braves’ defense has a veteran presence that could prove to win them games this season.
Rising senior linebacker Camden Zodrow had a breakout junior season for Walton last year, finishing with 85 total tackles, 8.5 tackles per game and three sacks. This year, he describes his role as the “brains of the defense,” hoping to be a leader to the linebacker room around him.
The other starting linebacker that will return for the Braves is rising junior Kyren Campbell. Campbell had a successful sophomore campaign, racking up 64 tackles to go along with two pass deflections and an interception. Campbell, who could also see gametime at receiver, will undoubtedly be crucial to Walton’s success this season.
On the outside, star corner Tristian Powell returns for his junior year. Powell was a lockdown defender in 2024, with three interceptions and five pass deflections.
In the trenches, defensive end and nose tackle Cavion Adams will look to make his presence known once again in the 2025 slate. Also a competitive weightlifter for the Braves, Adams has a ton of strength. In his two years as a varsity athlete, the rising senior has accumulated 63 tackles, five sacks and an interception.
After opening last season with a tough three-game stretch on the road, the Braves will have their first two contests at home against Marianna and Holmes County to open up the 2025 campaign.
Last year’s matchup against Crestview has been replaced with a Week 5 showdown against the Fort Walton Beach Vikings, followed by Walton’s first district game against South Walton in Week 6. They will face their two remaining district foes, Pensacola Catholic and Freeport, in Weeks 8 and 10.
A fascinating season is on the horizon for the Walton Braves, as they look to rebuild their squad virtually in its entirety. With the recent successes and the hire of new head coach Jay Lindsey, expect the Braves to take on this task well and compete for a playoff berth again in 2025.
