Nate Hanson runs his route and quickly makes another big play for a touchdown during a 7-on-7 against
Choctaw last month at Hurlburt Field.
Hanson didn’t get a ton of opportunities to make plays like that a season ago, but things just seem different for him this year as he gears up for his senior season with the Navarre Raiders.
Devin Wright attacks a defensive drill with all-out effort on a sweltering August morning on the University of West Florida campus.
This is year two in college football for Wright, but the first where he hopes to get on the field and showcase his ability after a redshirt season in 2022.
Adreahna Busch dribbles the soccer ball during a one-on-one drill in practice on one of those early August mornings that makes you feel like you are standing in the center of a camp fire.
She uses her skill to get past a defender, which isn’t a surprise as her coach at Pensacola State, Mark Yepshin, says the former Navarre Raider is ‘really, really nifty with her feet.’
Amanda Dodson used to play softball. She even won a state championship while in high school in Kansas.
But when she moved to Florida, she decided to shift her focus. And it turned out to be a pretty good decision.
Mark Yepshin has two young children. One just turned 3. The other is a little over a year. So when his name was mentioned as a possible head coach for the first women’s soccer program in Pensacola State history, he had to make sure his wife was on board.
Pensacola State’s women’s soccer team will play its first regular-season game in program history Aug. 18 at home against Hinds Community College. The Pirates will play their 2023 home games at the Ashton Brosnaham Complex in Pensacola.
Vinny Villanova said he got in maybe one play on varsity last season. So, the bright lights of Friday night will be a new experience for him as he heads into his junior season with the Navarre Raiders.
He feels good about where he’s at with kickoff fast approaching and is happy with the work he’s put in this summer.
Chelsi Kania was a familiar face in the dugout and at first base during games last season. Now, the former assistant is moving into the head coaching role for Navarre’s softball team.
Kania talked by phone Monday about the opportunity in front of her after learning she had gotten the job earlier in the day.
Jack Patching heads into his third season of soccer at the University of West Florida this fall.
Patching came through with a solid sophomore season for the Argos in 2022, finishing third on the team in scoring.
