Change is coming to a degree in how the Florida High School Athletic Association handles the playoff poll as well as seeding for the state semifinals in football. The FHSAA Athletic Directors Advisory Committee voted 10-4 last Wednesday to put more emphasis on head-to-head matchups when it came to playoff consideration. Final approval by the […]
It wasn’t long before junior linebacker Bailey Huston was back in the weight room along with his teammates on the Navarre football team. Burned by the feeling of missing the playoffs, that disappointment has provided fuel to the fire of the Raiders’ motivation. It’s why they have hit the ground running in the offseason. “We […]
Three Navarre Raiders seniors will have a chance to play one more high school football game under the lights on a Friday night. Marlon Courtney, Tyler England and Xayvion Thomas have all been selected to play in the Subway All-Star Game Friday at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola. A game featuring top players from Escambia, […]
Lighthouse Private Christian Academy made its first playoff appearance in program history Friday night in Pensacola. But there was no victory to go along with the historic football moment on a chilly November evening at Victor Randall Stadium. The journey ended here with a 20-14 loss to Akelynn’s Angels Christian Academy. The Stingrays battled throughout […]
Kobe Johnson thought teammate Xayvion Thomas was joking around Sunday about Navarre getting the cold shoulder when it came to getting into the playoffs. After all, the Raiders went into their bye weekend Friday feeling they had done enough to punch a ticket to the postseason. Their belief was strengthened by the 52-14 win over […]
Grady Kelly watches combines on television when he gets a chance. Now, he’ll have an opportunity to be part of one. Kelly is one of the top defensive linemen in the nation. He is joining Navarre teammates Elijah Melendez and Jeremiah Chavis-Mhoon at the National Combine at the Alamodome in January. Assistant coach Antenney Hemingway […]
Practice has just started for Lighthouse Private Christian Academy at Lion Park on a chilly Halloween afternoon in Pensacola. The team is working on kickoff coverage. It isn’t long before a hiccup occurs. A soccer coach of a youth team walks over to Lighthouse head coach Oliver Longley and tells him his team of maybe […]
Navarre’s dream of a postseason bid is over. The Raiders learned early Sunday morning that they won’t be in the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season. The Raiders entered the week in seventh in the playoff poll but ended up jumped by Chiles, which was ninth going into the week. Crestview, a team Navarre crushed […]
Potential has been within reach all season for Navarre. The Raiders just haven’t lived up to it. But it was different Friday night. Everything fell into place in Navarre’s 52-14 District 1-7A victory over Crestview at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. The offense put up more points than it has in any other game this season […]
Navarre is still in the playoff hunt, reviving its hopes with a 52-14 win over Crestview in its regular-season finale Friday night at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. The Raiders are seventh in the latest Region 1 playoff poll with a .560 RPI. They are 6-4 overall and 3-3 in District 1-7A. Navarre finds out for […]
Left for dead. Doubters everywhere. Navarre knew going into Friday night’s regular-season finale against Crestview that it wasn’t expected to do much. Even Joe Pinkos, who picks high school games across the state, had the Raiders losing the Bulldogs by 25 points. Yet, here on a windy and warm late October night at Bennett C. Russell […]
Navarre wraps up its regular season tonight against Crestview and its playoff hopes are riding on it. The Raiders face the Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. at Bennett C. Russell Stadium needing a win to stay in the hunt for playoff berth. A loss in this District 1-7A game puts the hopes of an eighth consecutive […]
With their backs against the wall, the Navarre Raiders responded in a must-win situation. They prevailed in a hard-fought District 1-7A game against Leon Monday night, grinding out a 31-28 victory at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee. Entering the week in eighth in the latest regional playoff poll, every game now matters a little more […]
Instead of traveling to Tallahassee for a football game, Navarre was on the practice field Friday morning. Its game against Leon ended up postponed until Monday night due to the threat of a tropical storm. The Raiders and Lions will play at 6 p.m. EST at Gene Cox Stadium. The Santa Rosa County School District […]
Any last glimmer of hope for a win for the Navarre Raiders vanished late Friday night when Chiles returned an interception for a touchdown. The Timberwolves led Navarre 49-31 at that point. Less than two minutes remained. Frustration set in. That feeling of dealing with defeat cut deep one more time. Raider head coach Jay […]
Navarre is ranked eighth in the latest Region 1 playoff poll, leaving its streak of consecutive playoff appearances (seven) in jeopardy. The Raiders were seventh last week. The top eight in the final poll make the playoffs. Navarre sports an RPI of .529, barely ahead of Fletcher (.527). Edgewater is still ranked first with an […]
Fate twisted in the wrong direction for Navarre Friday night. Down four and poised to score, the Raiders missed on a golden opportunity to take control against Chiles in the fourth quarter. The ball was knocked out of Xayvion Thomas’ hands on a catch near the sideline. The Timberwolves recovered the fumble and eventually turned […]
Navarre is looking to build on its momentum Friday night when it faces Chiles in its homecoming game. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. Fresh off their second shutout of the season– a 10-0 win over Tate — the Raiders are eager to take care of business and remain in the hunt […]
Homecoming is Friday night, adding excitement throughout the week leading up to the game. Navarre isn’t getting caught up in the hype of homecoming as every game means more. Instead, they remain focused on a showdown with Chiles at Bennett C. Russell Stadium Friday night. “We have to put the homecoming and pep rally stuff […]
Winning makes everything better. And for the first time in nearly a month, the Navarre Raiders experienced the thrill of victory. They brought their longest losing streak in a decade to an end Friday night. A 10-0 win over Tate at Pete Grindl Stadium in Cantonment ended the slide at three. The players savored the moment […]
Navarre is on the road Friday looking to end a three-game losing streak. The Raiders head to Cantonment to take on Tate in a 7 p.m. District 1-7A game at Pete Gindl Stadium. It’s the first meeting between the two teams since the second round of the playoffs in 2016. Navarre won that game 60-28. […]
Navarre finds itself in a video-game-like situation at this point in the high school football season. The Raiders are running out of lives in their quest to punch a ticket to the playoffs for the eighth consecutive season after a 20-7 loss to Niceville Friday night in District 1-7A play. The loss to the Eagles […]
With those final painful seconds ticking off the clock, the heartless reality of a three-game losing streak set to sink in, looks of disappointment were a common sight among the players on the Navarre sideline. The Raiders lost another football game Friday night, falling 20-7 to rival Niceville in a critical District 1-7A showdown at […]
Navarre finds itself in unfamiliar territory as it gets set to play Niceville Friday night. Coming off back-to-back losses for the first time since 2014, the Raiders (3-2) are hoping to bounce back against the unbeaten Eagles (5-0) in a 7:30 p.m. District 1-7A game at Bennett C. Russell Stadium. Navarre lost 24-6 to Pine […]
With a loss to Pine Forest behind them and a critical District 1-7A showdown with Niceville on the horizon Friday night at Bennett C. Russell Stadium, the Navarre Raiders find themselves in a rare spot. No one on the current roster has ever been on a Raider team that has lost more than one game […]
Navarre Raiders head coach Jay Walls stood outside the visiting locker room late Friday night and said to himself that ‘we have to get better.’ Those words summed up the night a difficult night that ended with the Raiders falling 24-6 to Pine Forest. It’s their second consecutive loss. Not since 2014 has Navarre lost […]
Navarre’s football team is looking to bounce back this week. Coming off a 35-20 loss to Lincoln in Tallahassee last Thursday, the Raiders play on the road one more time, traveling to Pensacola tonight to take on Pine Forest in a 7 p.m. showdown at Lon Wise Stadium. The Raiders (3-1) edged the Eagles 26-25 […]
Navarre stumbled for the first time this football season last Thursday. The Raiders didn’t have enough answers for Lincoln in a 35-20 loss at Gene Cox Stadium in Tallahassee. It was the first time in program history that the Raiders have played a district game as a 7A school. And while the scoreboard didn’t shine […]
The final score tells the ending of the story but not the whole story. Navarre had a chance to swing the momentum in its favor in this showdown with Lincoln Thursday night here in Tallahassee. Down seven early in the third quarter, the Raiders had forced the Trojans off the field on their opening drive […]
Navarre begins District 1-7A play under the lights on a Thursday night. The Raiders head on the road today to Tallahassee to take on Lincoln at Gene Cox Stadium. Kickoff is 7 p.m. EST. The Raiders (3-0) come in unbeaten and looking for their first win in a new district. They held on for a […]