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.

Eric Meraz came up off the bench after a successful lift, his arms flexed, his fists clenched as he let out a celebratory yell.

He was denied this moment a year earlier because of a disqualification over use of foul language, but there would be no roadblock to district glory this season for the Navarre senior.