Connor Mathews sat on a bench in the football fieldhouse late Friday night cutting tape off his ankles, the sting of a 34-27 overtime loss still fresh on his mind, the look of disappointment mixed in with the sweat on his face.

Mathews, running with all-out effort, often plowing through defenders for extra yards, had scored two touchdowns in a season opener against Catholic here on a brutally hot and humid evening at Bennett C Russell Stadium.

Earlier in the week, the Navarre High gym may as well have been a sauna. A lack of working air conditioning, coupled with the extreme August heat, made for slippery floor conditions and the Raiders being forced to call Tuesday’s match against Choctaw early.

But Thursday night, the AC worked and the Raiders rolled, holding off a tough Baker team in three sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-15 for their first win of the season.

The games start to count tonight. And the Navarre Raiders are hoping to extend their streak of season-opening wins to 10 games when they play host to Pensacola Catholic in a 7:30 p.m. game at Bennett C Russell Stadium.

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.

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.