A good old-fashioned grudge match can bring out the best and the worst in a team. This year, underdog Crestview pawed the pundits (including yours truly) by turning what looked like a game on its way to a running clock around for one of the most unlikely victories I’ve watched in panhandle football over the last decade.
Both teams’ fan bases showed up for this contest between the Eagles and the Bulldogs. All 250 or so members of Crestview’s Big Red Machine Marching Band made the trip down to Boggy Bayou to support the team, as did about 150 students from the school who wore their traditional black garb to the game.
Niceville was able to slap Crestview around quite a bit in the first half. It wasn’t until Deegan McCoy attempted to throw away a ball, which ended in an interception, that Crestview showed it wasn’t going to lie down on the field and die.
The Eagles would enter the locker room at halftime with a comfortable 28-10 lead over Crestview, thanks to some outstanding play by Senior Tight End Max Roche. Rocke would end the night with two touchdowns and almost 150 yards receiving on the night.
While Niceville marched into the halftime break with all of the points they’d scored on the night, Crestview walked back out on a mission to upset the Eagles and take the win.
Niceville’s offense would only have two drives on the evening after halftime – both scuttled by a defense invigorated with hope from some special teams hijinks and signs of life from the Crestview offense, which has been noticeably quiet on the field four weeks into the season.
Niceville would try to rally after Crestview gained its first lead of the night after a spectacular 4th down reception from Roche to keep the Eagles alive, but it wouldn’t be enough.
Deegan McCoy would roll out to his left in an attempt to buy time for an open receiver on first and ten. Gebriel Gottleib would speed in from McCoy’s blind side and hit him as he prepared to throw, causing a fumble. Two-way player Dakota Jones scooped and then fell on the ball to recover for the Bulldogs and put the game out of reach for their rivals.
While the scoreboard may not show it, Pine Forest showed up a week after a 35-14 loss to Niceville and ran into the brick wall that is known as the Choctaw Indians’ defense.
With the win 28-0 over Pine Forest, this is the first 4-0 start for Frank Beasley at Choctaw, his alma mater.
The offense was serviceable as usual, but it was the defense that once again shone against their opponents. Choctaw has not allowed a score since their opening contest against Gulf Shores, which means they haven’t given up a point to a Florida school since last season. Seven sack nights like tonight typically help make that happen.
“Our defense is playing extremely well, and I think this is their third shutout in a row, so Coach Brooks and Coach (Courtland) Fuller, all those guys on defense are doing an outstanding job,” said Choctaw Head Coach Frank Beasley in a postgame press conference.
We need to make a special shout-out to punter (yes, punter) Jordan Figueroa. The kid is good. Like really good. He pinned Pine Forest inside their own ten-yard line three times on the night to kill the Eagles’ drives early.
Quarterback Tamen Zabetakis and the QB room have not figured out how to pass efficiently yet – though he’s performed better so far this year compared to his Junior campaign. He’s passing at about a 54% completion rate and has a 2-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Running Back Von’Tavius Keller continued to show why he is an impressive force to be reckoned with. He had 134 yards on 25 carries. Supporting cast members Dante Whidebee and Carter Marraco each ran for a touchdown on the night.
Well, none of us saw a 131-point game coming. Cottondale and Freeport were auditioning to become the newest members of the PAC-12 on Friday night.
Freeport would walk away with the victory thanks to a fourth quarter with 14 unanswered points to come back and defeat Cottondale on homecoming, 71-60.
MBN Week Three Player of the week, Carter Nunes, went ham in the passing lanes – completing 11 of 19 for 222 yards and five touchdowns. He’d surrender an interception on the evening as well. As you might’ve guessed, Louisville commit Julius Miles caught the most passes (5) and would rack up 136 yards and two touchdowns. Junior Caleb Leonard would have the most tuddies on the stat sheet, though, with three.
Freeport’s Dylan Louthain would grab the lion’s share of rushing yards (186) and a touchdown. Carter Nunes would add another 80 yards on the ground just to keep things interesting for the Cottondale defense.
While Louthain looked very good against Cottondale’s defense, His stats were an order of magnitude below Cottondale’s tailback.
Freeport’s defense would expose its weakness to the run on Friday night. They would give up 396 yards to a single back, Cottondale Sophomore Zacarius Collins. Totally floored that you can score 60 points in a high school game by getting most of your yardage through one running back – but do you, Cottondale?
Milton @ Tate
Milton Head Ball Coach Ronnie Douglas went back in time to his last coaching gig to earn his fourth win of the season and remain undefeated as Milton’s skipper.
But when we say back in time, we mean they had a final scoreline like it was 1899.
Milton would take the win over the Aggies 3-0, which was both teams’ record when they entered the gridiron Friday evening.
In total, both teams would have 261 yards of recorded offense on the night. Both teams. Together. Less than 300 yards. Wow.
Milton QB/RB/FS/Everything Else Kaiden Hall would go 2-for-3 and accrue 17 passing yards on the evening. One pass was for zero yards. Another was for 17. The Florida Commit also led the Panthers on the prowl for yards on the ground with 54 on ten carries.
Let’s check in on Southern Miss Commit and the player recruiting services accuse of being a wide receiver, David Aboya. His big stat for the night? Three punts for 113 yards.
3-0, people. 3-0.
IDouglas has begun, in the back of his mind, to have designs on a 10-0 victory against Pace to finish up an undefeated regular season.
Crazier things have happened. Milton’s leading passer was a Free Safety, and their Star Recruit had a busy night punting.
🤷🏻♂️. High school football, baby.
Other Scores From Around the Emerald Coast
⚔️ Catholic (3-1) 17: 🗡️ Montgomery Catholic 6
🐬 Mosley (3-1) 36 : 🏴☠️ Navarre (0-3) 16
🌪️ Bay (4-0) 28 🐊 Escambia (0-3) 14
🍢 Walton (2-1) 6: 🐆 West Florida (1-2) 35
🪽 So. Wal (3-0) 24 🎣Arnold (1-2) 6
🐅Pensacola (1-3) 49: 🦈 Destin (1-2) 9
Emery Hagan has plenty of accolades: She’s the class vice president, a two-sport athlete, and she’s put in more than 200 volunteer hours.
But in her own words – the most compelling case for her candidacy for the Taylor Haugen Trophy comes from the bottom of the fifth page of her application. Under her dad’s name, she leaves the field for a second parent blank.
Hagan was born to a family of all boys. “My mom had always wanted a little girl. She tragically lost her mother when she was a few years old, causing her to forever yearn for a baby girl of her own to heal from her childhood lacking a mother figure,” she wrote in her application.
Her mother was a teacher who she credits with teaching her how to treat everyone with “the utmost kindness – as I may never know what they go home to each day.”
Hagan had to lean on those lessons being taught to others when she was in fith grade and unexpectedly lost her mother. Hours after learning of her mother’s death, she says her fifth grade teacher showed up to her house to console her – letting Hagan see firsthand how important her mom’s credo could be when others did it for her in her life.
Because of role models like Mrs. Moore, Hagan learned to use the tools her mother had to help others and her own experiences to be a light to others.
“Almost half of my childhood has been spent lacking a mother figure, but I am forever grateful to have shared the time we did,” Hagan concluded in her application, “I pray that I never stray from what she has instilled in me. As she always said, you may never know what a person may be going through. Always be the good in their day. Sometimes their life, their sanity, their safety depends on it. May her love and kindness forever live through me.”
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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