Near the end of Senior Bowl practice Thursday afternoon at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium, the American team had a little fun, including Jordan Jefferson running a route and making a catch as he crossed into the end zone.

Maybe he has a future as a receiver in the NFL, but all kidding aside, defensive tackle is where Jefferson excels. He’s set up to become the latest Navarre alum to hear his name called in the NFL Draft in April.

Mateo Soto chimed in with a speech to his teammates at halftime of the District 1-6A final Wednesday night against Tate, demanding one thing of them no matter what the scoreboard said at the end.

The Navarre standout and team captain asked his fellow Raiders to be dead tired by the end of the night, to fight for every ball and not make anything easy for the Aggies.

Overtime awaited after 80 exhausting minutes of fiercely competitive soccer against the No. 2 team in the state, the Navarre Raiders tied 2-2 with the rival Gulf Breeze Dolphins in a thrilling District 1-6A semifinal.

The players were out of breath, sore and tired, many of them with their hands on their sides as they listened to their coach, James Baccarini, who was fired up in the huddle as he spoke.

Navarre’s girls soccer team has been waiting since last season for a chance to return to a District 1-6A championship game.

Eliminated in the semifinal round a year ago, the top-seeded Raiders didn’t let history repeat itself, rolling to a 4-0 win over Tate Friday.

Dasia Wilder didn’t win a district championship Thursday in Niceville, but the junior weightlifting standout for the Navarre Raiders did earn runner-up honors in the traditional competition in the unlimited class.

For Wilder, it’s a big deal, especially being just her second year as a lifter. And her effort helped Navarre finish second as a team in both traditional and Olympic and take the first step towards state.