The stakes couldn’t have been higher for Niceville against Tate, and the Eagles came through with a 34-33 win at home that moved them to 2-0 in district play. If Niceville had lost, it in all likelihood would have missed the playoffs for the first time since 2000, which speaks to how loaded Class 5A, Region 1 is.
The game was a tight one from start to finish.
“It’s a win. A win’s a win. We’re 2-0 in district. Hats off to Tate, they played so hard,” Head Coach Adron Robinson said.
The Eagles defense originally appeared to have Tate stuffed on the Aggies’ first drive by forcing a third down, but Tanner Clark ripped off a 54-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-medium to put the Aggies up first, 7-0.
Niceville responded when Deegan McCoy hit Jakobe Gilyard for a 59-yard touchdown on a screen to tie it up.
On Tate’s second drive, Niceville once again appeared to have the Aggies stuffed, but a pass interference penalty on third-and-long gave Tate new life. The Aggies capitalized, with Cade Peirce firing a 34-yard touchdown strike to Brayden Allen to put Tate back on top 14-7.
Gilyard was banged up on the ensuing kickoff but later turned out to be OK, and Niceville found a way to score on its next drive. Isaac Wyatt ripped off some solid runs and McCoy hit Malachi White for a solid gain, but Noah Renes was the story of the drive. The Georgia Tech commit, who lined up at quarterback in the “heavy” package, consistently churned the rock and capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Nate Martinez missed the extra point, leaving Tate ahead 14-13.
The Aggies offense once again looked hard to stop behind Ethan Pittman, driving all the way to about the Niceville 4-yard line. But a muffed snap recovered by Trimarcus Mays gave the Eagles the ball back, and Niceville responded.
McCoy hit White for a 30-yard field-flipper while also finding Jason Leach and Caleb Leonard for first downs. Gilyard took it to the 1 before punching it in himself to give Niceville its first lead of the night, 19-14. The Eagles went for 2 but came up short.
Niceville’s defense then forced a punt, and a personal foul on Tate set up another strong drive, which ended with McCoy hitting Leonard for a touchdown strike to give the Eagles a 26-14 advantage at halftime.
The Aggies found new life in the third quarter. Niceville drove into Tate territory, but the Aggies defense stiffened, and the drive ended with a sack of McCoy. Tate got the ball back, and strong running from Pittman and Clark pushed the Aggies into the red zone, where Peirce hit Jamarion Pierce for a touchdown to make it a one-score game.
Niceville’s next drive also came up empty. On Tate’s ensuing drive, the Eagles forced a third-and-a-mile, but Peirce found a wide-open Efidarius Bryant for a touchdown that gave the Aggies the lead back, 27-26.
Niceville responded again. McCoy and Leach shredded the Aggies defense on the way down the field, Gilyard punched it in from a short distance and the Eagles converted the 2-point try to go up 34-27.
“He had a lot of good runs, had a couple fumbles, but he’s a warrior, and he helped us get the win,” Robinson said.
On Tate’s next drive, Bryant fumbled and D.J. Stafford recovered for Niceville. Gilyard later had a fumble of his own, however, and the Aggies recovered. After a long run from Pittman, Peirce found Allen for a field-flipping catch that was deflected before Allen came down with it. A few plays later, Clark found the end zone, but Tate missed the extra point, leaving Niceville ahead 34-33.
That miss kicked off a series of Aggies miscues that helped Niceville close out the win. On fourth-and-medium around midfield, a Tate player jumped offsides, giving Niceville the first down. Then, on fourth-and-short with a minute and a half remaining, Renes picked up the first down on a direct snap to seal the contest.
“Noah is a dawg and he made all the plays when we needed him to make it,” Robinson said.
“I feel like if you give me the ball on fourth down nobody’s going to stop me,” Renes added.
With Godby and Pace still on the docket, Niceville absolutely needed this one.
“I’m going to enjoy this one for a little bit,” Robinson said.
“We’ve got to prepare really well next week, and keep getting after it at practice,” Renes added.
