Panhandle Prospects is hosting its third Top 40 Showcase Aug. 27 at the Fricker Center in Pensacola.
The top 40 players from the area will be participating in front of college coaches and members of the media, including Navarre’s Darius Cunningham Jr. and Jonah Forrest.
Ben Johnson is used to a demanding schedule. He’s in NJROTC and on the swim team at Navarre. This year, he’s one of the team leaders and the commanding officer of the Raider battalion as well.
Chase Thomas is one of three Navarre Raider golfers with experience from last season.
Also a baseball player, Thomas said golf is a sport he’s come to enjoy.
Staying cool in the pool might not seem like much of a challenge, but the intense heat that has gripped the area the last couple of weeks has forced Navarre’s swim team to tweak workouts a bit.
On another hot and humid morning out on the track, the focus of the Navarre cross-country team is on setting a good pace for a race.
Joshua Alt is asked to run as hard as he can four times around the track while Marisa Turner is told to run at half her full strength.
Two of the top hitters from last year’s district runner-up volleyball team at Navarre are gone. Kyra McKelvey and Hailey Snider are now playing at the college level.
Yet, the cupboard isn’t bare for the Raiders as they head into another season full of promise and potential.
It was an interesting offseason for Navarre’s football team. A few players who would have been starters transferred out of the program.
But the players who are still here have been unified this summer in their workouts and are ready to push forward into the 2023 season, hopeful they can contend for a District 1-4S championship once again.
Brayden Brown used to watch his brothers play football when he was younger. He dreamed of one day being on a high school field playing the game he’s been hooked on since he was 5 years old.
Josh Wilson charged straight ahead, running hard and running fast as the offensive line opened a running lane, the defense of West Florida Tech with no chance to stop him as he found the end zone.
That second-quarter score by the junior standout cut Navarre’s deficit to 26-20 with under eight minutes to play in a Kickoff Classic Friday night at Bennett C Russell Stadium.
Navarre had a tough time with West Florida Tech a year ago in a Kickoff Classic. The Raiders dropped the varsity half of the preseason game by a 20-0 score.
But they are hoping for a much better result this time around as they host the Jags tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Bennett C. Russell Stadium.
