When Carter Marracco took the field against Pace on Sept. 4, his entire family had come down from Michigan to watch. His parents, Stephanie and Curtis, were in the stands. And the Indians still needed their first win of the season.

Marracco helped deliver.

The senior running back scored two touchdowns and a rushing two-point conversion, accounting for 14 of Choctaw’s 21 points in a 21-14 victory.

“That night was my birthday, so it was already a great night, and my whole family came into town from Michigan, so they were all there to watch it,” Marracco said. “I’m glad that we got the win.”

On his first score, Marracco credited lead blockers Dante Whidbee and Von Keller for opening a clear lane to the end zone. On his second, Whidbee sealed the edge and Rives Brown cleared the receiver, leaving nothing between Marracco and the goal line. When Pace scored with under two minutes left to cut the lead to seven, the Indians were ready to finish it.

• “We knew we had to battle all game,” Marracco said. “When they scored with under two minutes left, we were ready to go back and score and win that game.”

The Pace game was the latest chapter in what has kicked off a great senior season already. Through three games, Marracco has rushed for 180 yards and five touchdowns on 23 carries, added 75 receiving yards, and even thrown the ball in trick-play packages. Against Auburn in Week 2, he broke off a 62-yard run on his way to a 103-yard night.

“We had a trick play versus Auburn two weeks ago where I got to throw it,” Marracco said. “The quarterback threw it back to me, and then I hit Noah Calderon on a 38-yard reception across the middle of the field. So I enjoy slinging it a little bit.”

The versatility is nothing new. Marracco played quarterback his entire life before switching to running back as a sophomore. An injury brought him back under center briefly, and he now lines up at both running back and tight end for the Indians.

“I love all the different positions,” he said. “I like moving around and playing the different spots, learning it all.”

Choctaw Head Coach Frank Beasley said deciding where to put Marracco on a given play can be a challenge, but it is the kind of problem a coach wants to have.

• “He’s just a dynamic playmaker,” Beasley said. “The plays he made the other night, it’s third and two, and he catches the ball at the bottom of his foot and gets us a first down. He does a lot of little things that people don’t even notice.”

Beasley first met Marracco as an eighth grader at Meigs Middle School, where he played quarterback. Back then, the coach said, the body language and ability to handle adversity needed work.

“It wasn’t good at that time,” Beasley said. “He’s grown a lot since then. That has a lot to do with his parents, obviously, as well. They really push those boys to be not just good at athletics but good at everything that they do. But he’s so humble, and he cares about people, which is the best thing about him.”

The Marracco name runs deep at Choctaw. 

Carter’s older brother Dylan graduated two years ago. His younger brother Jack is a junior on the football team. A fourth Marracco brother, Blake, is at Meigs and plans to attend Choctaw next year. Their mom, Stephanie, is the testing coordinator at the school. Their dad, Curtis, owns Taco Town, which Beasley calls a “Fort Walton Beach staple.”

“My parents, they never miss a game, or anything,” Marracco said. “They always push us and make sure that we’re getting the right grades and never missing practices. They just always make sure we have what we need.”

On the field, Marracco said the teammate who pushes him the hardest is Ryne “Rhino” Burks, a lifelong friend who plays a similar role in the offense.

• “Me and him are just back and forth with each other,” Marracco said. “We just push each other nonstop.”

He also pointed to Keller as the team’s emotional spark, calling him “the hype man.”

“Von’s always getting us ready for practice. He’s dancing around,” Marracco said. “He brings the energy, and it makes football more fun.”

Off the field, Marracco is a member of the National Honor Society and said his favorite class has been marine biology. He starts his mornings early, driving Blake to Meigs before heading to Choctaw for his own classes, which include AP Environmental Science and digital design. When he is not on the field or in the classroom, he enjoys being on the boat and going on summer road trips with his family to places like Key West, Miami and Detroit.

Beasley said the moments that define Marracco are not always the ones that show up on the stat sheet.

“The biggest thing is the milestones for him in our weight room and then in our locker room,” Beasley said. “The smile on his face, and the joy from his teammates when he reaches some of those milestones. It’s fun to watch how much people care about him and how much he cares about other people, even away from football. He’s just a really good person.”

Asked what he wants people to remember about this Choctaw team when it is all said and done, Marracco was clear:

“That we won a state championship in 2026.”