Sports

Deegan McCoy, Jakobe Gilyard power Niceville past Navarre in district opener

The Niceville Eagles opened district play with a 58-29 victory over Navarre on a night honoring the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Travis Espy

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The Niceville Eagles needed a bounce-back performance after a loss to Mosley, and they got exactly that Friday night.

Deegan McCoy accounted for six touchdowns, Jakobe Gilyard found the end zone three times, and the Eagles rolled to a 58-29 victory over Navarre at Eagle Stadium on Sept. 11 to improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play.

“It’s a district game, it’s a district win, we’re 1-0 in the district,” Head Coach Adron Robinson said.

The on-field fireworks were matched by an elaborate pregame ceremony remembering the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. A piece of steel from the World Trade Center was presented before kickoff, and at halftime, an American flag that flew over the United States Capitol was presented to Niceville principal Amy Meyer.

The combined marching bands of Niceville and Navarre then performed “America the Beautiful,” drawing a standing ovation from the capacity crowd.

Fast start

Niceville set the tone from the opening snap when McCoy connected with a wide-open Austin Stanley for a 58-yard touchdown. Nate Martinez‘s extra-point attempt was blocked, leaving it 6-0.

Navarre answered quickly. On third-and-4, Peyton Johns found Nash Jackson deep, and Jackson mossed an Eagle defender and took it 74 yards to the end zone to give the Raiders a 7-6 lead.

The Eagles responded with a sustained drive. Gilyard ripped off a long run to move the ball into Navarre territory, setting up a 35-yard touchdown strike from McCoy to Jaxon Dark that put Niceville back in front, 13-7.

After the Raider offense stalled out on penalties and negative plays, with Noah Renes stopping Johns on a third-down scramble for no gain, the Eagles pushed the lead further. McCoy converted a key third-and-long by keeping it himself, then found Gilyard on a screen pass. Gilyard did the rest, taking it 28 yards for a touchdown that made it 20-7.

Navarre fights back

The Raiders would not go quietly. On second-and-6 from the Navarre 24, Ben Eberhardt broke free for a 74-yard run deep into Niceville territory. Esera Mageo punched it in from two yards out on the next play, cutting the deficit to 20-14.

On the Eagles’ next possession, Martinez connected on a field goal to push the lead to 23-14. Navarre answered with another scoring drive that saw Johns hit Brody Powers to move the ball inside the 25. Despite a holding penalty, the Raiders converted, and Eberhardt carried it to the goal line before punching it in to make it 23-21.

Niceville responded before halftime. McCoy found Dark on a long reception that flipped field position to the Navarre 13, and Gilyard finished the drive with a 13-yard touchdown run. The Eagles took a 30-21 lead into the break.

Eagles pull away

The score held until late in the third quarter, when Gilyard scored from just outside the goal line to put Niceville up 37-21 and complete his three-touchdown night.

“Jakobe’s Jakobe,” Robinson said.

“It feels pretty good, my line was blocking, and I balled out,” Gilyard added.

McCoy kept it himself from five yards out early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 44-21. The Raiders answered one more time when Johns hit Walker Bridges for a six-yard touchdown, and Johns found Ehren Manuel for the two-point conversion, cutting it to 44-29 with 7:15 remaining.

That would be as close as Navarre would get. After a stalled Niceville drive, the Eagles defense stuffed the Raiders deep in their own territory, and a fake punt attempt came up short, giving Niceville the ball in prime field position. McCoy found Caleb Leonard for an eight-yard touchdown to make it 51-29 and give McCoy his fifth touchdown of the night.

“Couldn’t be more impressed with his leadership off the field, than on, what he’s showing off the field just led to a great game today,” Robinson said.

“I feel great. It was fun,” McCoy added.

With 2:01 remaining, McCoy and Dark connected again for McCoy’s sixth touchdown of the night, pushing the final score to 58-29.

Dark’s breakout game

Dark, a freshman, finished with two touchdown receptions on the night and drew praise from Robinson and his teammates.

“He’s a freshman, had a few drops early in the season, I think he was a little wide-eyed, I think tonight, we made it a point to get him the ball early,” Robinson said.