Sports Archive

Perhaps it was only fitting that it was a chilly Wednesday afternoon at the NYSA Soccer Complex as Navarre’s Megan Kirby prepared to sign her national letter of intent.

Kirby after all, is headed to St. Cloud State to continue her soccer career. For the record, that school is in Minnesota.

Pieces of blue confetti fell as the University of West Florida football team celebrated its greatest moment in program history one year ago.

The Argonauts won the NCAA Division II national championship for the first time, beating Minnesota State 48-40.

Perhaps it seemed like a long shot for Navarre to beat Tate. At least on paper. The Aggies, after all, were unbeaten, and one of the top boys soccer teams in the area going into a showdown with the Raiders last Wednesday night at the Ashton Brosnaham Complex.

Yet, the Raiders didn’t back down, prevailing 2-1 in an intense and physical battle. All three goals were scored off penalty kicks. That includes the two that were punched in by Zyler Beckman.

Fresh off a trip to North Carolina with their club team for a tournament, four Navarre Raiders were back with their teammates last Tuesday night and helped the Raiders pick up a 3-0 win over Fort Walton Beach.

Emma Simon, Megan Kirby and Hunter Wallace all scored goals for Navarre in the first shutout victory of the season. Cami Acevedo also made the trip and played a key role defensively in the win.

Tailor Ernst took an arm across her face as she went up for a shot near the basket in the opening quarter of a game against Escambia Thursday night.

The ball dropped through the net and she drew a foul as well, knocking down the ensuing free throw to stretch Navarre’s lead out a little more.

The work had already been put in and the excitement was building for a boys basketball showdown with Niceville last Monday night.

Then came the news on the Friday before. The Eagles had to call off the game because of COVID-19 concerns.

Enough notebooks to start one heck of a campfire with have laid inside a compartment in my desk for several years now.

Each one contains notes of games gone by, countless interviews with athletes and coaches and details on big moments that will forever go down of some of the best in this area’s sports history.

Navarre’s girls weightlifting team closed out the 2020 portion of its schedule on a high note.

The Raiders did it by winning their own invitational Tuesday afternoon, claiming the crown with 90 points.

Michael Carter had himself a day against the Miami Hurricanes Saturday. The University of North Carolina running back churned out 308 yards to record his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.

Carter’s yard total against the Hurricanes in Miami is the second-most in school history. He also scored two touchdowns and now has five touchdowns in the last two weeks.

Once down by almost 20 points, Navarre’s boys basketball team faced a dire situation late in its District 1-6A game against Pace Friday night.

Then the Raiders changed course. Shots started falling. They made critical defensive stops.