After starting the season 0-2 with losses to Mosley and Auburn, Choctaw is starting to look more and more like the Final Four contender that many expected to see in the preseason.
- The most recent win came Thursday night in Pensacola, where the Indians shut out Escambia 41-0 in a game postponed from Week 4 due to weather.
“It was pretty dominant, proud of our guys, starting to do the little things, attention to detail, practice during the week, those kinds of things,” head coach Frank Beasley said.
Baker Giles, simply put, was on fire, finishing with five total touchdowns.
On Choctaw’s first drive, he fired a 26-yard strike to Carter Marracco for a touchdown. Early in the second quarter, Giles led a drive down the field that ended with him finding Noah Calderon for a 9-yard touchdown. Then, with 21 seconds remaining in the first half and facing fourth-and-15, he found a wide-open Amir Reese for a touchdown to send the Indians into halftime with a 21-0 lead.
Giles didn’t slow down in the second half. Late in the third quarter, he found Ryne Burks for a 19-yard touchdown. In the fourth, Giles added an impressive 45-yard touchdown run that no Escambia defender could stop, putting Choctaw up 34-0. The ensuing extra point attempt from Andrew Rynearson was blocked, which kept the running clock from being triggered.
“He’s doing a really good job. The main job of a quarterback is to get the ball in the hands of receivers,” Beasley said.
- “I just trust my coaches, my offensive line, and my receivers to get it done,” Giles added.
The Big Green defense did the rest, pitching a shutout and keeping pressure on the Gators offense and quarterback Corneilius Barge Jr. all night.
Choctaw intercepted three passes. The first came in the second quarter, when Jabron Ruffin picked off a pass and returned it into Gator territory, setting up the Giles-to-Reese strike before halftime. Bryce Henderson added an interception in the third quarter, and Reese returned another for a touchdown midway through the fourth, which triggered the running clock.
“Amir’s unbelievable. He does great things,” Beasley said.
“He’s just an athlete. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Giles added.
The Indians forced another turnover in the fourth quarter on a fumble from Jaquez Luttley, giving Choctaw four takeaways on the night.
“Defense is starting to play pretty well, we’re starting to find our groove a little bit,” Beasley said.
“They’re working hard in practice, they’ve got some great athletes, they make it easier as a whole on the offense too,” Giles added.
Next week, Choctaw hosts Fort Walton Beach with the highest stakes that “The Game” has carried in quite some time.
“We’re pretty excited about it, we’re excited about the opportunity to compete against Fort Walton, Beasley said. “It’s going to be a fun week, for all our guys, we’ve just got to stay focused on what we’ve got to do. We’re excited about playing that game and the opportunity to support Coach Pulliam and his family.”
Two schools, one cause: Rivalry week t-shirt fundraiser supports FWBHS Coach Josh Pulliam
Organizers are selling $30 shirts for Fort Walton Beach Head Football Coach Josh Pulliam as Choctaw and the Vikings meet in the Oct. 9 game.
