At the end of her post-game talk with the team late last Tuesday evening in the outfield of Hensley Stadium, Navarre head softball coach Kelly Hayes opened the floor up to Caitlin Tilton, the lone senior.

For four years Tilton has been an integral part of the Raider softball program, a starter since her freshman year, making big catches in centerfield and delivering clutch hits in key moments.

A team that once looked like it had no shot of even contending for a district championship, dropping its first five games, Navarre gained momentum down the stretch and put itself in the mix.

And after shutting out Tate 12-0 in its District 1-2A tourney opener last Monday night, the Raiders squared off against Pace last Wednesday for the right to play for a district title.

Angel Rhodes took off down the field last Wednesday night, leaving the defenders behind her as she scored on a 56-yard catch-and-run play that gave Navarre its first points of the night in a flag football showdown with Pace.

It was a silver lining on a challenging night in which a slow start was too much to overcome in a 32-6 loss to the Patriots at Bennett C. Russell Stadium.

Just after 8 a.m. on a Friday morning, Navarre’s boys weightlifting team is hard at work, the focus all in on carving out a special place in school history.

Music blares over the speakers, the sound of weights clanking mixed in with it, the lifters encouraging and working with each other to make the most of this morning workout just days before the 3A state meet in Port St. Joe.

As Navarre’s girls lacrosse team walked off the field for the final time late Thursday night, there was, without question, pain from the sting of defeat, but that feeling was overwhelmed by the sense of pride the Raiders were feeling in the wake of how far they have come in 2022.

They played for a district championship for the first time in program history, facing area power Niceville for the title, and though the 13-4 loss here on a warm April evening at Eagle Stadium ended their season, they won’t let the loss define their season.