Week 4 opened with a disruption when the Choctaw at Escambia matchup was postponed to Week 7 after strong thunderstorms Friday hampered Escambia’s field. Beyond that, Mother Nature cooperated and the rest of the slate played out without a hitch.
Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and South Walton all earned bounce-back district wins, Walton showed no signs of slowing down coming off its bye week, and Freeport pulled away in the second half for a big road win.
Here’s how Week 4 played out:
Niceville 58, Navarre 29
Deegan McCoy accounted for six touchdowns and Jakobe Gilyard found the end zone three times as Niceville rolled past Navarre 58-29 at Eagle Stadium to improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district play.
The Eagles needed a bounce-back after a loss to Mosley, and they delivered in a big way on a night that also featured an elaborate pregame ceremony honoring the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Niceville jumped ahead early on a 58-yard McCoy-to-Austin Stanley touchdown, and while Navarre fought back to cut it to 23-21 in the second quarter behind a pair of Ben Eberhardt runs, the Eagles scored the final seven points of the half and never looked back. Freshman Jaxon Dark had a breakout night with two touchdown receptions.
Fort Walton Beach 28, Milton 0
Fort Walton Beach’s defense dominated from start to finish as the Vikings blanked Milton 28-0 to open district play and improve to 2-2 overall and 1-0 in district.
With their Class 4A playoff hopes on the line, the Vikings got a 52-yard rushing touchdown from Elijah Donson in the first quarter and then leaned on their defense through a scoreless second quarter. Fort Walton Beach broke it open in the second half when Lavin McDaniel connected with Cannon Wilbur for a 22-yard touchdown late in the third, Donson added his second rushing score off a Jrue Lee fumble recovery, and Bryson Gay recovered a fumble for a touchdown to cap the shutout.
South Walton 31, Pensacola 12
South Walton earned a bounce-back district win Friday night against Pensacola to improve to 3-1.
The game started tight. JD Brown hit Roman Cartee for a touchdown to put the Seahawks on the board first, but Pensacola’s Rashad Williams answered with a rushing touchdown to keep it close. Max Madden responded with a rushing touchdown of his own, only for Caleb Willoughby to punch in a rushing score for the Tigers to keep the game within reach.
From there, South Walton took control. The Seahawks rattled off two unanswered touchdowns — the first a Madden rushing score, followed by a Carter Hawk rushing touchdown — and then tacked on a field goal to pull away for the 31-12 win.
Freeport 49, North Florida Christian 33
Despite a tight start — Freeport led just 14-13 at the end of the first quarter and 21-13 at halftime — the Bulldogs exploded in the second half to build a commanding 49-19 lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. North Florida Christian mounted a late rally, but it was too little, too late as Freeport held on for the 49-33 win and improved to 3-1.
Walton 50, Taylor County 13
Taylor County became the latest team with no answers for Walton, which has now outscored its opponents 143-26 on the year and carries all the momentum in the world heading into what should be a key measuring-stick game against Fort Walton Beach next week.
Rodney Clinch turned in a hat trick in the first half alone, while Sincere Williams added two touchdowns in the second half. Whitton West also tossed two touchdown passes in the second half to keep the offense rolling.
Taylor County found the end zone on a touchdown, then again in the third quarter on a Joe Jackson to Seth Boggs touchdown pass, but it was far from enough as the Braves rolled to a 50-13 victory and improved to 3-0.
Tate 28, Crestview 7
Tate scored four unanswered touchdowns to pull away after Crestview struck first in both teams’ district opener Friday night, handing the Bulldogs a 28-7 loss and dropping them to 0-4.
Zy Tassin found Zach McKinnon for a touchdown to give Crestview the early lead, but the Aggies responded with force. Cade Pierce connected with Efidarius Bryant for a touchdown, then added a rushing score of his own. Pierce found Bryant again for another touchdown before Tanner Clark capped the night with a rushing touchdown as Tate pulled away for the 28-7 win and improved to 3-1.
The loss puts Crestview in a difficult spot early in district play as it looks to find its footing.
Blountstown 38, Baker 22
Baker fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in district play after running into a Blountstown team that controlled the night on both sides of the ball.
Dawson Mitchem tossed two touchdowns and Chasen Lawrence added a rushing touchdown for the Gators, but Blountstown quarterback Brad Waggoner Jr. was the story, throwing three touchdowns while the Tigers’ defense held Calvin Wilks III to just 58 rushing yards.
Aucilla Christian 19, Rocky Bayou 17
Rocky Bayou fell to 0-3 in a heartbreaker against Aucilla Christian on Friday night.
The Warriors jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Knights clawed their way back. Matix Villagomez scored on a rushing touchdown, and Evan Tomaschko knocked through a field goal to cut the deficit to one score. Cooper Wiles answered with a rushing touchdown to push Aucilla Christian’s lead to 19-10, and while Villagomez found the end zone again on another rushing touchdown to make it 19-17, the Warriors held on for the two-point win.
