Escambia Academy Cougars Get 60-7 Playoff Win
November 6, 2021
The Escambia Academy Cougars cruised to a 60-7 win over Edgewood Academy Friday night in round one of the AISA Class 2A state playoffs in Canoe.
The EA Cougars (9-1) move on to round two to face Chambers Academy (10-1) next Friday night. Chambers is coming off a 42-14 win over Wilcox Academy.
Photos: Andrew Garner/Atmore Advance for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Photos, Scores: NWE Football
November 1, 2021
Her are NWE Football scores from Saturday:
Seniors
- NWE Garnet 24, Atmore 6
- Brewton 2 — NWE Gold 0 (forfeit)
Juniors
- NWE Garnet 24, Atmore 0
- Brewton 13, NWE Gold 6
Sophomore
- NWE Garnet 35, Atmore 0
- Brewton 13, NWE Gold 0
Freshmen
- NWE Garnet 35, Atmore 0
- NWE Gold 14, Brewton 13
In the Escambia River Conference, NWE Garnet is No. 1 for freshmen, sophomores, and seniors. NWE Garnet is No. 2 behind Andalusia in juniors.
For an action photo gallery, click or tap here.
Photos by Shawn Gomez for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview’s Shelby Kent Advances To Regional Cross Country Meet
October 31, 2021
Northview Cross Country participated in the 2A Region 1 District 1 meet in at West Florida High School on Saturday.
Shelby Kent, a Northview junior, qualified to advance to the 2A Region 1 meet in Jacksonville next Friday, November 5.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No. 5 UWF Beats Mississippi College 63-28
October 31, 2021
The fifth-ranked UWF football team scored 35 unanswered points to scare away any upset hopes Mississippi College had with a 63-28 win at Robinson-Hale Stadium on Saturday night.
UWF improved to 7-1 on the season and moved into second place in the Gulf South Conference at 4-1 as it extended its school-record road winning streak to nine.
Shomari Mason rushed for approximately 150 yards with three touchdowns, while Austin Reed rushed for a score and threw four touchdowns. Reed totaled well over 300 yards passing with more than 20 completions. Larry Rembert was the recipient of three of the scoring throws, as he reached the end zone from 25, 27 and 37 yards out.
The 63 points for the Argonauts tied their season-high and match the second-highest total in program history.
The second-half shutout for the UWF defense was the third such occurrence this season. The Argos have held five opponents to seven points or less in the second half. The defense forced a pair of turnovers and got the Choctaws to punt four times.
UWF came out and scored on its first possession as Mason reached paydirt from two yards out. After each team punted, MC tied it at 7-7 when DeAnte’ Smith-Moore scored from the one.
The Argos went back up 14-7 when reed hit Ka’Ron Ashley from nine yards late in the first quarter. Again the Choctaws came back with an 11-play drive capped off by a Marcus Williams 4-yard rush.
Reed needed just five plays to put UWF back on top, hitting Rembert on a 25-yarder. Smith-Moore threw a 30-yard pass to Sam Wilder for a 21-21 score to keep MC tied.
On the next possession, Mason and Anthony Johnson, Jr. gashed the Choctaw defense for a combined 48 yards on four carries to set up Rembert’s second touchdown reception on a 27-yarder. MC got it tied again heading into the locker room when Jaylin Jones reached the end zone with 38 seconds remaining.
In the second half, UWF held MC to minus-2 yards on the opening drive before needing six plays to go 53 yards for Mason to score from the eight. Another 5-play possession for MC followed before UWF scored again, going up by 14 midway through the third on Rembert’s third score of the night.
Mason took control following another Choctaw punt, rushing for nearly 80 yards on three carries, including a 69-yarder that setup another of his scores from inside the five.
Reed now has 69 career passing touchdowns, moving into a tie for eighth in GSC history with Rogan Wells of Valdosta State and Willie Candler of West Georgia.
UWF will remain on the road next week with a trip to 25th-ranked West Alabama (7-2, 4-2) on Saturday afternoon. Kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Livingston, Alabama is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Photo: Morgan Givens/UWF.
Top Ranked Niceville Tops Tate 35-0 (With Photo Gallery)
October 30, 2021
Niceville, the third-ranked 7A team in the state, defeated the Tate Aggies 35-0 on Senior Night Friday night at Pete Gindl Stadium.
The Aggies held the Eagles scoreless in the first and fourth quarters, but Niceville ran away with 28 in the second quarter and added another 7 in the third.
The Niceville Eagles improved to 9-1, 4-0 and hold first place in District 1-7A.
The Tate Aggies are 1-8 overall, 0-4 in the district. The Aggies will end their season next Friday night at 6A Pine Forest (6-1, 3-0).
For a game action photo gallery, click or tap here. (Look for the band, cheerleaders and band in a photo gallery by Monday.)
NorthEscambia.com photos by William Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Friday Night High School Football Finals
October 30, 2021
Here are Friday night’s North Escambia area football high school football scores:
FLORIDA
- Niceville 35, Tate 0 [Story, photos...]
- Northview 39, Bay 35
- Jay 24, J.U. Blacksher 0
- Pine Forest 49, Washington 15
- Wakulla 37, Pensacola High 13
- West Florida 30, Pensacola Catholic 7
- Escambia 21, Gulf Breeze 14
- Navarre 29, Crestview 22
- Milton 35, Pace 28
ALABAMA
- Escambia Academy 64, Bessemer Academy 0
- Flomaton 42, Escambia County (Atmore) 0
- T.R. Miller 40, W.S. Neal 16
Pictured: Niceville defeated Tate Friday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Tate And Northview Girls Golf Teams Both Advance To Regionals
October 27, 2021
Both the Tate and Northview girls golf teams have advanced to regionals next week.
Tate placed second in the District 1-3A girls golf tournament Tuesday at the Stonebrook Golf Club. They will compete in the regional tournament Monday in Gainesville.
Northview’s girls golf team placed in the District 1-1A girls golf tournament and advanced to regionals this weekend in St. Augustine.
Pictured top: The Tate High School girls golf team. Pictured below: The Northview High School girls golf team. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bonus Photo Gallery: Northview Chiefs Band, Cheerleaders And Fans
October 25, 2021
The Northview Chiefs beat the Marianna Bulldogs 21-14 Friday night in Bratt.
For a bonus photo gallery with the band, cheerleaders and fans, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
UWF Argos Get Bounce-Back Win Over Shorter 45-23
October 24, 2021
by Bill Vilona
The stadium had quieted, the game reached a first-half lull and a spark was needed.
That’s when University of West Florida quarterback Austin Reed lit a fuse and dropped a bomb on a 3rd-and-20 play with 31 seconds left.
For a photo gallery, click here.
He threw a textbook pass to fast-emerging, freshman receiver Jared Smith for a 78-yard touchdown that padded the lead and pronounced the Argos eventual 45-23 victory Saturday against the Shorter Hawks at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
One week after an emotion-deflating loss on this field against West Georgia, the No.6-ranked Argos (6-1) felt good again with a bounce-back win. They expanded a 28-9 halftime lead into 38-9 after three quarters to seal the easy win.
“That sequence right there is probably every emotion you can have as a football coach,” said UWF coach Pete Shinnick. “We’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh we’re at third-and-20, this is unbelievable.’
“You go from, oh my goodness, we’re going to punt the ball back and we had everything going… to, okay, touchdown this is great. That is the ups and downs you go through.”
It may have been the lone peak-and-valley moment in the game.
Saturday’s win followed a loss that snapped UWF’s 11-game, two season, winning streak. The streak matched the longest in NCAA Division II.
In five of UWF’s first six games, the Argos have allowed the opponent an opening possession touchdown. In all six previous games, opponents scored in the first quarter.
Both those trends ended Saturday.
In just 53 plays, the Argos amassed 495 yards total offense. They averaged an eye-opening 9.3 yards per-play, which set a school record.
“Obviously Shorter is not in the top end of the conference, but then our offense handled it the way we should handle a team that is at the lower end of the conference,” said Reed, who completed 18-of-30 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a 29-yard touchdown for the Argos final score.
“I’m really proud of our guys… how hard they worked and how they really bounced back after a tough loss and the way they went into practice and stayed focused.”
The Argos obviously have bigger sights, but Saturday’s win clinched another winning season, the fourth in UWF’s five-season history. It’s a feat that few start-up college football teams have attained.
“This is a process. Things aren’t always going to look phenomenal,” Reed said. “And part of that process is getting to where you are playing your best football around week 10 or 11.
“I love the progression of this team. I don’t want to be the best team in the country after six weeks, I want to be the best in the country after Dec. 18 (Division II championship game).”
The Argos also love how quickly Jared Smith has emerged. With leading receiver David Durden out Saturday with a groin injury (he is expected back next Saturday), it was Smith’s chance to shine.
The Enterprise, Alabama native delivered with four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He followed the 78-yard splash play with a 9-yard scoring catch on UWF’s first possession of the third quarter.
“Just super proud of this kid just getting open,” Reed said. “He’s been solid since he got here on campus and is just getting more and more comfortable with the offense. He has added an extra dimension to our offense that we didn’t know we had.”
The Argos began the game with the ball and set a tone. Shomari Mason finished a five-play drive, following a 63-yard kick return by Marcus Clayton, with his 2-yard touchdown plunge. Mason rushed for 85 yards on just six carries.
Rodney Coates made it 14-0 with his 11-yard pass from Reed on the team’s third possession. UWF scored touchdowns on four of its five offensive tries in the first half. The exception was a Reed interception.
But the play Smith made, after UWF was pinned deep, following a holding penalty late in the first half, helped put the game away.
“It’s a great feeling,” Smith said. “But this man (pointing to Reed) had a lot of trust in me just to go run and catch the ball. We do it in practice, so it just comes natural in the game.”
Said Reed: “We feel like with any amount of time left on the board with a timeout we can go score. Thankful that Coach Shinnick had the trust in us to go out there and let us just roll. Third down, just called a deep shot and thought maybe they wouldn’t be expecting us to throw it that far.”
The final three games on UWF’s schedule will level up in challenges. The Argos travel to Clinton, Miss. next Saturday to play Mississippi College.
The Choctaws were thumped 41-14 Saturday by unbeaten Valdosta State, but it’s a lengthy road trip, an evening game (6 p.m.) and Mississippi College’s homecoming game.
The focus will then turn to West Alabama (on road) and the finale against Valdosta State which will shape UWF’s post-season fate.
Before all that, however, UWF knows it will need to shore up some issues on defense. All four of Shorter’s scoring drives Saturday were longer than 70 yards, albeit two against the Argos’ reserves on defense.
“Defensively, there is some frustration there, just getting off the field,” Shinnick said. “I think we are very close. But we just allowed some drives to go. And we need to do a better job closing out. At some point in time we need to get off the field and we really didn’t do that.
“I’ll take 45-23 after a loss. Now we have to go on the road for two weeks and keep playing well.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos: Morgan Givens/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Beats Marianna 21-14 (With Photo Gallery)
October 23, 2021
The Northview Chiefs beat the Marianna Bulldogs 21-14 Friday night in Bratt.
Northview was coming off a tough 45-13 loss on the road last week at Catholic, and head football coach Wes Summerford told the Chiefs they would turn it around against the Bulldogs.
“I told them before the game, I said we just got to get back on the winning track. It’s a good time, not better time than the present, to get back to winning football,” he said. And it wasn’t just about the win, it was about the RPI.
With playoff determinations a few weeks away, the 1A Chiefs needed the win over 4A Marianna to earn the points needed for a postseason berth. In Class 1A, playoff spots are not determined by district wins; it’s the Rating Percentage Index (RPI). RPI rankings are based upon a mathematical formula based upon a team’s current record, current Winning Percentage (WP), Opponents Winning Percentage (OWP), and their Opponent’s Winning Percentage (OOWP). Basically, beat better teams and rank higher.
“I think our back was kind of against gets the wall as far as the RPI. You know we started slipping a little bit and I think our kids just fought their butt off, they knew it,” Summerford said Friday night.
For an action photo gallery, click or tap here. (Look for a photo gallery by Monday with cheerleaders, band and fans!)
The Chiefs opened the scoring with a Luke Bridges touchdown from fourth and long from about the 25. With a good kick from sophomore Brandon Ferguson, the Chiefs were on top 7-0.
The ensuing kickoff was recovered by Northview’s Aron Chavira at about the 40-yard line.
Jamarkus Jefferson was in for a touchdown, but it was called back due a Northview block in the backfield flag. Jefferson made another trip into the end zone with 4:50 remaining in the half. With another good Ferguson kick, the Chiefs were in the lead at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium.
Jefferson added another TD with 47 seconds in the half. Ferguson nailed the kick through the uprights for a 21-0 Northview lead. But the Bulldogs were determined not to head the locker room scoreless and added a TD at 36.9 seconds to make it 21-6 at the halftime buzzer.
The Bulldogs added the only touchdown of the second half in the third for the 21-14 final.
Next week, it’s a 150 mile road trip for the Chiefs as they travel to Panama City to face the Bay High Tornadoes.
The road hasn’t been kind to the Chiefs this year. Northview, 3-4 overall, is 3-0 at home and 0-4 away. Bay is 2-6 this season, with their only two wins coming at home.
“I know the road (is tough),” Summerford said. “This is thing we’ve got to know is where we’re at. Seed-wise, we’re probably going to be on the road for the playoffs, so no better time like the present to get ready.”
For an action photo gallery, click or tap here. (Look for a photo gallery by Monday with cheerleaders, band and fans!)
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
