Navarre to play football in three-team 2-6A

Two regular-season games will determine Navarre’s football fate this year and next.

In a decision that surprised most area coaches and fans, the Florida High School Athletics Association divided nine Class 6A teams in Northwest Florida into six-team District 1 and three-team District 2. Navarre landed in the less-populated loop, with Okaloosa County schools Choctawhatchee and Fort Walton Beach.

Two teams from each district qualify for postseason play; having fewer teams in a district improves each team’s odds of making the playoffs. But it also makes each district matchup more critical, Navarre coach Jay Walls said in published reports.

“All of your district games are important, no matter how many teams, but certainly with three teams and two games, it puts a lot at stake on those two games,” Walls said. “There’s little room for error.”

The FHSAA realigns districts for all sports every other year. Navarre competed in a six-team District 2-6A in each of the past two seasons, but redistricting moved Crestview and Niceville to Class 7A and Mosley High School in Lynn Haven successfully petitioned to compete in Class 5A.

For the complete story, see the Jan. 31 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.