Lulu Kerns walked over to her sister, Kennedy, who was sitting on the bench, and the two heartbroken siblings shared a long embrace.


A similar scene played out across the Navarre Raider girls soccer sideline, and on the field, players in tears, doing their best to console one another.

Lacey Riley knocked down her fourth 3-pointer of the night, pulling Navarre’s girls basketball team within six with a little over three minutes to play in a thrilling District 1-6A quarterfinal against rival Pace on the road.


Once down 19 points in the third quarter, the Raiders refused to fold Tuesday night. Riley wouldn’t let it happen. Neither would her teammates.

Josh Cooper scored off a layup in the final seconds of the first quarter, cutting Milton’s lead to 11 in the opening round of the District 1-6A basketball tournament on Monday.


The Navarre Raiders were unable to close the gap any further, however, as the game progressed as their season ended with a 71-32 loss to the reigning district champion Panthers in Milton.

Navarre’s girls soccer team established early on Thursday night that it wasn’t going to back down from Niceville in the District 1-6A championship game.


Aiming for a second consecutive district crown, the Raiders cannot be faulted for their effort against the Eagles. And even after Niceville broke a scoreless tie late in the first half, Navarre kept battling.

There were tears, long embraces and looks of disbelief, the usual after effects of a heartbreaking loss.


Navarre’s boys soccer team felt it all as it walked off the field late Tuesday night at Ashton Brosnaham Park, the raw sting of defeat cutting deep after its dream of playing for a district championship was dashed by Tate.

Navarre’s girls soccer team is headed to the District 1-6A title game.


The Raiders advanced with a 1-0 win over Tate Tuesday night in a semifinal showdown at Ashton Brosnaham Park in Pensacola.

Runner-up isn’t bad at all when one considers Navarre was in a District 1-3A girls weightlifting meet on Saturday that featured back-to-back state champion Pace.


The Raiders placed second in Olympic and traditional in the highly competitive meet at Pace as the road to state began. Double champions Izzy Zach and Olivia Hall led the way.