Menu
🏈 Choctawhatchee alumnus Frank Beasley returned to lead a major football turnaround, guiding the team from an 0–8 season to consecutive 10-win years and three regional final appearances.
📚 Beasley emphasizes academic readiness and exposure for players, helping several earn Division I scholarships to schools like Stanford and Tennessee.
🔑 The 2025 team returns key players, including quarterbacks Zabetakis and Marracco, running back Von’Tavius Keller, and new transfers, with a focus on growing a young offensive line.
Inside Coach Frank Beasley’s historic turnaround at Choctawhatchee High School
In 1995, Frank Beasley graduated from Choctawhatchee High School. He is as local as they come – he attended Ocean City Elementary and Pryor Middle School before heading to Choctawhatchee High School.
Fast-forward exactly 30 years, and Beasley now has the Indians in the midst of a Renaissance. But, like the team’s journey toward success, his own to becoming Choctaw’s head coach was not a straightforward one.
After graduating from high school, Beasley immediately found opportunities to pursue his passion for coaching. As a 19-year-old college freshman, he took his first coaching gig at Florida High in Tallahassee.
He made one more stop as a coach in Lake City at Columbia High School before landing his first head coaching position at Dunnellon High School in 2005.
In 2008, Beasley interviewed for a vacant head coach job at Choctaw. He came up just short of securing his dream job, finishing runner-up to Greg Thomas in the hiring process. After seven more years at Dunnellon, he stepped away from coaching entirely.
“I was an AD, I was burnt out and I was tired,” said Beasley. “One of my buddies called me and asked if I’d be interested in working for the Florida High School Athletics Association. So I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll go up there and talk.’ They offered me the position, and I oversaw football, boys basketball and boys and girls weightlifting for six years at FHSAA.”
Beasley found himself right at home at FHSAA. He had originally planned to work for the organization until he retired. When the head job at Choctaw became available again, it wasn’t something he had even intended to apply for. It was his wife who had reminded him of his dream.
“Ultimately I did see myself staying at FHSAA until this job came open,” Beasley said. “It was literally a one-night decision, and my wife looked at me and said, ‘Well, why aren’t you doing this? Why don’t you go after it.'”
So that was exactly what he did. After being brought in by Principal Michelle Heck and going through the interview process, Frank Beasley was offered the head coaching position at Choctaw.
He inherited a team that had fallen on hard times, going 0-8 in the season leading up to his appointment and just 14-25 in the previous four years. It took just two seasons under Beasley for the Indians to match the win total of 14 from the last four campaigns.
That was just the start of the success for Choctaw with their new headman at the helm. After winning seven games in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Indians won 10 games in 2023 and last year in 2024. Tie that record in with three straight regional finals appearances and Beasley has already accumulated quite the resume at his new post.
So how was he able to lead a turnaround like that so quickly? For Beasley, it was all about a young core of players who could leave a lasting impact on the program.
A really strong group of underclassmen, including Cole Tabb, Jesse Winslette, Jonathan Boyd, Jashawn Armstrong, and Evan Malagarie, was the spark that successfully righted the ship.
“I had done my research on those 9th graders and what they were about,” Beasley remarked. “That 9th grade group actually won the county championship at Meigs the year before. I felt like they could change our program as sophomores if they bought into the things that we did and the staff that I wanted to bring in here, and I wasn’t wrong. Immediately, Cole Tabb and Evan Malagarie, those guys got on board and started pushing this program to the places it’s gone. It was on their shoulders and our staff’s shoulders. Quite honestly, I just drove the bus.”
That bus continued to pick up steam, rolling to regional championship games in each of the last three years. Choctaw hasn’t been able to get past that tricky third-round matchup yet under coach Beasley, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time before they do.
“We just have to get over that hump,” said Beasley. “We’ll figure out how to do it. Our kids have a lot of character. At some point, we’re going to do it. And maybe we won’t, but we have had a lot of success. I’m really proud of our guys that have been here in the past and built this program the right way.”
As the school year comes to a close, the anticipation for another season of football at Etheredge Stadium continues. After a full spring slate and a game against an extremely talented Florida High team, the keys for the Indians are becoming clear. The first and most important is the play of the offensive line.
“The whole key is going to be our offensive line and how quickly they can grow,” said Beasley. “We’re young there right now, but they had a really good spring, and they grew a lot. We’re never really big on the offensive line, but we’re overachievers. We’re pretty physical guys, and that’s the way we coach them and that’s the way we expect them to play.”
Another positive for Choctaw is that they will be returning a solid amount of production from the team that played St. Augustine for a spot in the final four a year ago.
Rising senior Tamen Zabetakis and rising junior Carter Marracco will both be returning at the quarterback position in 2025. Last year, the pair accounted for all but four of the Indians’ total passing yards. Zabetakis, who is coming off multiple injuries, has battled back and has already impressed in the offseason. Coach Beasley describes Marracco as a “true athlete.” The versatile signal-caller can do a lot of different things when the ball gets in his hands.
Elsewhere on the Choctaw offense, running back Von’Tavius Keller and tight end Ryno Burks also look to be contributors to a successful season. In his sophomore campaign, Keller totaled 1,774 yards on the ground, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. He also had 21 touchdowns, by far the most of any Indian. Burks continues to emerge as not only an elite blocker but a tight end with excellent ball skills. “He’s going to have a huge year,” coach Beasley said of Burks.
Add in senior defensive staples Mario and Ellis Alloway, who both finished north of 70 tackles a year ago, as well as talented transfers DJ Spence from Gulf Breeze and Deshawn Simmons from Fort Walton Beach, and the 2025 roster is starting to take shape.
One of the most significant aspects of Beasley’s job, often overlooked by casual fans, is helping kids transition to the next level after their high school careers conclude.
“That’s been my passion since I started,” said Choctaw’s head coach. “Number one is educating them and making sure they understand what that process looks like from an academic standpoint. Number two is figuring out how to get your kids the maximum exposure that they could possibly get. My biggest thing is that college coaches evaluate our guys.”
Choctaw has produced several Division I athletes under Beasley, with players signing for Stanford, Houston, Ole Miss, and Tennessee.
Now, as he enters year five of his tenure at Choctaw, Frank Beasley took a moment to look back on his time as the Indians head coach.
“Sometimes in this position, you don’t have the opportunity to reflect very much,” Beasley said. “I’m proud of the things that we built here. I’m proud of our infrastructure, and I’m proud of making sure that everybody rows in the same direction. The biggest thing for me, and it always will be, is the personal relationships that I’ve built with not only our players but also our staff. I’m really close to all of our players, and I’m really close to all of our staff. I really care about them and I want them to do well not just in here, but in life.”
It is safe to say that Frank Beasley could become as influental on the program as Lionel Fayard, the man who led Choctaw to its only state championship in 1990.
The turnaround Beasley has led is unlike any other, and for a man who wore the black and green uniform himself 30 years ago, it could not be more rewarding.
Frank Beasley and The Choctaw Indians play Niceville in the Twin Cities on September 19 after taking a loss to the Eagles last year in Fort Walton Beach.
They have district games against Rickards (Panama City), Fort Walton Beach, and Arnold (Panama City) as well.
They play their Kickoff Classic game against Milton on August 14.
Pro Communi Bono
