Sports Archive

Michael Carter and Thomas Leggett have spent countless hours in the weight room and on the field the last few months.

Their limits have been tested. Their skills have been evaluated. But their eyes have never drifted from the end goal of making it to the NFL.

For 33 days, a devastating loss to Niceville simmered and stewed on the minds of Navarre’s flag football players. That 42-0 loss to the Eagles a month ago was an open wound that would not heal.

But of out of the ashes of that crushing defeat, a champion has risen, the Raiders standing tall as the best in the district in 2021 after punching their rival in the mouth Wednesday night in the District 1-2A final at Eagles Stadium.

TJ Peltier is moving to the loud music playing inside the weight room. He’s adding weights to the bar and lifting with unmatched focus as he ramps up his workouts ahead of Saturday’s 3A state weightlifting meet in St. Cloud.

Peltier is a high-energy guy. He feeds off emotion. And he is always doing his best to hype up his teammates.

Mackenzie England caught the ball in stride near the middle of the field and turned up the jets as she outran the entire Leon defense on her way to the end zone.

It was one of several special moments for Navarre’s flag football team in its historic 40-6 win over the Lions in the quarterfinal round of the district tournament Monday night at Bennett C. Russell Stadium.

The quest for the College Cup begins next week in women’s soccer and two former Navarre Raider standouts will be involved in that journey.

Emily Madril and Hailey Bastian are both headed to the tourney with their respective teams.

Once upon a time, flag football at Navarre was merely a dream. The closest players came to it was the annual powder puff game between the girls in the junior and senior classes.

Things have changed. The dream has become a reality as Navarre has made a name for itself in the sport.
It doesn’t surprise me. It shouldn’t surprise you either.

Reid Travis cherished the opportunity to celebrate senior night with his family and teammates in a year where uncertainty still lingers because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But one of his biggest fans was missing at last Tuesday’s game against West Florida Tech.

If softball involved splashing into second base instead of sliding, Navarre’s softball team would have played a game Thursday night.

But a scheduled battle with Choctaw wasn’t played because of the storms that rolled through earlier in the day.

For most athletes at Saturday’s District 1-4A meet in Tallahassee, it was their first time competing at that level.

And yet, if there were any nerves among the Raiders, they didn’t show. Several athletes rose to the occasion and punched an automatic bid to the regional.

Defense wins championships. And Navarre’s flag football team knows playing well on that side of the ball will be critical to success in the District 1-2A tournament that kicks off Monday night at home against Leon.

The winner moves on to play Chiles or Lincoln in the semifinal round Wednesday at Niceville.