Sports Archive

The state championship is now only within reach for four schools.

Navarre is among the elite still standing heading into Friday’s 3 p.m. 2A state semifinal against Newsome at Mandarin High School in Jacksonville.

Michael Carter held a cellphone in his hand, smiling and saying thank you several times to New York Jets General Manager Joe Douglas, who was on the other end of the line. 

Carter then put his head down for a moment before looking up and shouting an emphatic ‘Yeah!’ raising his arms in the air as his family cheered in the background.

They squeezed one more inning of baseball out of the 2021 season last Tuesday night, hoping perhaps that it would lead to at least one more day.

The Navarre Raiders forced Crestview into extra innings in a tightly played District 1-6A quarterfinal game in which mistakes were few and far between and both sides did their job from an execution standpoint.

With the sun starting to set over Hensley Stadium in Niceville last Tuesday night, that sinking feeling of a season ending started to take hold of Navarre’s softball team.

It wasn’t a lack of effort or determination against Tate that kept the Raiders from advancing in the District 1-6A tournament.

I’ve never been one to put a lot of stock into rankings, be it preseason, in-season or postseason. They have as much value as the lint in my pocket. Maybe less.

Apparently, rankings mean even less than I first thought based on how the Region 1-2A bracket was set up for flag football.

Tailor Ernst and Rachel Leggett pulled away briefly from the celebration near the sideline, pushed off each other while smiling and then brought it in for a high five and a hug.

A minute or so earlier, the Navarre duo connected on a clutch scoring strike on fourth down. Ernst dropped back and found Leggett in traffic. She caught the ball and turned up the jets down the left sideline on her way to the end zone.

If an example is needed of the will and determination of Navarre’s flag football, halftime of last week’s regional semifinal is it.

The Raiders trailed Fleming Island 7-0 on the road. Their dream of keeping this storybook playoff run going teetered on the brink of extinction.

Only three Navarre athletes are headed to the 4A state meet Saturday in Jacksonville.

But all three, Rachel Leggett, Talin Griffin and Tyson Morgan, are in a position to contend for a championship after soaring to new heights at the regional meet over the weekend.

The wait is over. Michael Carter is headed to the NFL.

Projected to go in the third round Friday night, Carter finally heard his name called shortly after Noon Saturday when he was announced as a fourth-round pick of the New York Jets.