‘Oh Man That Was Fun’ — Tate Aggies Defeat The Northview Chiefs In The ‘Summerford Bowl’
September 8, 2023
The Tate Aggies defeated the Northview Chiefs 42-14 at Tate’s Carl Madison Field in the second annual “Summerford Bowl” that pits head coach Rhett Summerford and his Aggies against brother head coach Wes Summerford and his Chiefs.
“Oh man that was fun,” Rhett Summerford said after the big win over his little brother. “It’s fun seeing him; it’s just a cool moment. They have a good team, and he’s going to get them rolling. After this season, they are going to be there. That’s just the way it is. He’s a great coach. It was fun. I hope he does it again next year.”
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
For a bonus photo gallery with the band, fans and cheerleaders, click here.
Officially, it was the FFA Ag Bowl with a cowbell as the big trophy Friday night. Last year, washing the family Thanksgiving dinner dishes was also on the line when Northview topped Tate 34-25.
“We are still getting better,” Rhett Summerford said of his Tate Aggies, who celebrated another big milestone Thursday night with their second win of the season. The Aggies have not won more than one game in a season since 2018.
“We’ll continue to work. Our kids are hungry and It was a big win for our program tonight. That’s just the truth,” the Aggies coach said, seconds before he was dunked with a Gatorade bucket of ice water by players Christian Neptune and Trey Edwards. They had waited patiently for the interview with NorthEscambia.com to end so our camera wasn’t soaked.
“Man they all look a lot better,” Northview’s Wes Summerford said of his brother and the best Tate team in five years. “In that time frame to get those kids like that and believing — he’s just done a great job.”
“I don’t know if I can get away with playing him again,” Wes Summerford said. “We may tuck tail and run, both of us just go separate ways. But it’s been fun, and it’s awesome to play here (at Tate). It’s awesome to bring our team down here and see this facility and everything, and it’s a good experience for them.”
Senior Andre Colston put the Aggies on the board 7-0 with 7:41 in the first on a 20-yard touchdown run. Still in the first, quarterback Taite Davis found Christian Neptune on a 74-yard touchdown play, 14-0. To round out the first, the Aggies did again, this time Davis to Neptune for a 30-yard TD.
In the second quarter, Davis hit Brayden Beck for a 24-yarder and C.J. Autrey was across the goal line for a 27-yard touchdown.
Northview scored their first touchdown just over a minute before the half on a pass from Wyatt Scruggs to Joe Wright from 24-yard out. The Chiefs added their final score on a 7-yard pass to Devin Kelly.
Tate (2-1) will hit the road to take on Navarre on September 15. The Northview Chiefs, off to a rough 0-3 start, will host Lighthouse Private Christian Academy September 15 in Bratt.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
For a bonus photo gallery with the band, fans and cheerleaders, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Blast Rocket City In 11-4 Victory
September 8, 2023
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos launched four home runs, including a pair of milestone shots, in an 11-4 victory over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Thursday night.
Josh Zamora’s three-run blast in the second inning was his first Double-A homer, and Jake Thompson followed suit with a game-breaking grand slam in the eighth for his first home run in a Blue Wahoos uniform.
All 11 runs were scored on long balls, as Victor Mesa Jr. and Bennett Hostetler also went deep in Pensacola’s fourth straight win. They made a winner of Patrick Monteverde (W, 10-4), who allowed four runs in 5.0 innings to become just the fifth pitcher in team history to win ten games in a single season.
Mesa’s two-run homer in the first inning and Zamora’s three-run blast in the second were a rude greeting for Sammy Natera Jr. (L, 0-1), who took the loss for the Trash Pandas in his debut performance. While Rocket City climbed back in the game with homers from Sonny DiChiara and Tyler Payne, Monteverde stranded a pair of runners to end the fifth with a 5-4 lead.
After an effective 2.1 innings of relief from Zach McCambley, Thompson gave the Blue Wahoos breathing room in the eighth with a grand slam, his first homer since arriving in Pensacola last week. Hostetler added an opposite-field blast in the ninth for good measure before Jefry Yan shut the door on an 11-4 victory.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Friday night.
written by Erik Bremer
Palacios Pitches Gem in Pensacola’s 1-0 Win
September 7, 2023
Luis Palacios was masterful in a matinee performance, twirling 8.0 scoreless innings as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos defeated the Rocket City Trash Pandas 1-0 in a combined three-hit shutout on Wednesday afternoon.
Palacios (W, 9-7) became the first Pensacola pitcher since 2019 to complete 8.0 innings, and did so on only 79 pitches, in the best outing of his Double-A career.
The Blue Wahoos were only 1-for-10 with men in scoring position, but strung together three singles from Cody Morissette, Josh Zamora and Tanner Allen to scratch across a run against Rocket City long reliever Cole Percival (L, 1-4). It proved to be the only run of the game, marking Pensacola’s first 1-0 win since their victory over Montgomery in Game Three of the 2022 Southern League Division Series.
Palacios was perfect through 4.0 innings, and allowed only three hits over his 8.0 innings with one walk and seven strikeouts. He was lifted in the ninth for Matt Pushard (S, 2), who worked around a two-out walk to lock down the save.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series against the Trash Pandas on Thursday night.
Jay Royals Defeat Northview
September 6, 2023
The Jay Lady Royals defeated the Northview Chiefs 3-1 high school volleyball action Tuesday evening.
The Jay won the match at Northview in four sets, 25-9, 21-5, 25-20, 25-20.
Northview (3-2) will host L.E.A.D Academy of Pace (0-6) Thursday at 6 p.m.
Jay (5-0) will host Milton (5-5) Thursday at 6 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
McIntosh’s Late Homer Leads Pensacola Past Trash Pandas
September 6, 2023
Paul McIntosh hit a go-ahead ninth-inning homer as the Pensacola Blue Wahoos opened up their final regular season road series with a 3-2 win over the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Tuesday night.
Deadlocked in a 2-2 tie from the fourth inning on, the Pensacola designated hitter mashed a solo blast over the left field wall to begin the top of the ninth inning for the first Blue Wahoos lead of the night.
The game was dominated by pitching, as M.D. Johnson turned in a quality start with 6.0 innings of two-run ball and five Trash Pandas relievers held the Blue Wahoos to only five hits in a scheduled bullpen game.
Rocket City took a 2-0 lead in the second as Mac McCroskey blooped a two-out, two-run single to shallow right. Pensacola tied the game in the fourth with a Victor Mesa Jr. RBI double and McIntosh sacrifice fly.
Chandler Jozwiak held the Trash Pandas hitless through 1.2 innings of relief, and Dylan Bice (W, 2-2) entered to record the final out of the eighth and preserve the 2-2 tie. McIntosh then turned around a Hayden Seig (L, 0-1) breaking ball for his sixth Double-A homer of the season, giving the Blue Wahoos a late road lead for the second time in as many weeks after a similar eighth-inning blast two weeks ago in Biloxi.
Bice worked a quiet ninth to lock down Pensacola’s 71st win of the season.
The Blue Wahoos have a quick turnaround, playing their Wednesday game in the late morning as part of a field trip day at Toyota Field.
Wahoos Wait Out Rain, Beat Lookouts 5-3
September 4, 2023
A long day and tough week ended in a gratifying way for the Blue Wahoos.
After the start of Sunday’s game at Blue Wahoos Stadium was pushed back nearly two and a half hours, the Blue Wahoos jumped to an early lead, then had their bullpen hold under pressure in a 5-3 victory against the Chattanooga Lookouts. A good portion of the crowd of 3,425 waited out the weather and remained at the end of the game.
It earned the Blue Wahoos (70-54) a series split against a team they may see again in the Southern League playoffs. This year’s Blue Wahoos team now becomes the fourth in franchise history to attain 70 or more wins. The club record is 81 wins.
The Blue Wahoos won a championship last year with just 68 wins.
The Lookouts (68-57), the Cincinnati Reds affiliate, won the first half North Division in the Southern League. Their deep lineup of hitters enabled wins in nine of the 12 games in regular-season meetings this season with the Blue Wahoos.
Sunday’s game was to start at 4:05 p.m. By the time it finished, the time was 9:35. Continuous bands of rain kept pushing back the start time and forcing the Blue Wahoos grounds crew of staff members into extra duty to keep the field dry with tarp pulls. It was the fifth time in the week that inclement weather affected either pregame workouts for each team, or the game itself.
Once Sunday’s game began, the Blue Wahoos gained an early edge.
Victor Mesa Jr. continued his strong production with a two-run homer in the first inning that followed a leadoff walk from Nasim Nuñez.
Will Banfield made it 3-1 in the third with a solo homer, his 20th of the year.
Mesa later produced a 4-1 lead with successful gamble on the basepaths. He was on second when an errant pickoff attempt from Lookout catcher Matheu Nelson bounced away from shortstop Jose Torres. Mesa raced around third and made a terrific slide to avoid Nelson’s tag at the plate on Torres’ throw.
The Blue Wahoos got their fifth run when Paul McIntosh reached on a walk, went to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored on an errant throw.
Blue Wahoos starter Evan Fitterer picked up his seventh win by working into the sixth. He got out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth inning with a 95 mph fastball to strike out Torres.
In the sixth, with two runners on, Blue Wahoos reliever Brady Puckett recorded a strikeout to end that inning. In the eighth inning, after two out, reliever Zach McCambley allowed three consecutive walks before freezing Torres with a fastball to escape another jam.
And in the ninth, after a leadoff homer by Blake Dunn and a single that followed, closer Luarbert Arias recorded his second save with a pair of strikeouts, including the final out against Quincy McAfee.
The win pushed the Blue Wahoos’ second half record to 29-27 with 12 games to play. They will leave late Monday morning for Madison, Alabama, to begin a six-game series against the Rocket City Trash Pandas on Tuesday.
Their final series of the regular season will be at home, beginning on September 12 against the Mississippi Braves. The Southern League divisional playoffs begin September 19 with the Blue Wahoos having home field in the final two games of the best-of-three series against either Biloxi or Montgomery.
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Late Error Sinks Wahoos In 3-2 Loss
September 3, 2023
Another 20-year-old rising star shined on the mound Saturday at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
This time, however, it was an opposing pitcher.
Chase Petty, one of the Cincinnati Reds’ top prospects, dazzled in his Double-A debut, setting a tone on a pitchers’ night for both teams as the Chattanooga Lookouts held on for a 3-2 win against the Blue Wahoos.
The well-played, rapidly-moving game was completed in 2 hours,12 minutes, and the crowd of 3,915 then took in the post-game fireworks display provided by game sponsor Budweiser.
Blue Wahoos starter Jonathan Bermúdez dueled with Petty in one of his best starts this season. He went six innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven.
The Lookouts scored a pair of unearned runs off reliever Caleb Wurster to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh and their bullpen shut down the Blue Wahoos for the win.
Petty, a first-round pick by the Minnesota Twins in 2021 out of high school in Linwood, New Jersey, joined the Reds in a March 2022 trade for major league pitcher Sonny Gray and minor-leaguer Francis Peguero. He is rated the Reds’ No. 6 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Petty was elevated to Chattanooga and his four-inning start Saturday brought to mind former Blue Wahoos star Eury Pérez, who turned 20 earlier this season and was honored Friday with a giveaway bobblehead.
The fast-working Petty yielded just one hit – facing just one above the minimum – and threw 32 strikes in his 43 pitches.
The Blue Wahoos picked up a game-tying run in the sixth inning when Cobie Fletcher-Vance led off with a double and scored on a single by Nasim Nuñez. It was the first time the Blue Wahoos had multiple hits in an inning.
The game was decided on a misplay.
In the seventh, Chattanooga’s Ivan Johnson hit a hard grounder that second baseman Cody Morissette fielded, but his force-out throw sailed over Nuñez and into left field allowing both runners to get into scoring position.
Nick Northcut then hit a deep drive that bounced out of the glove of left fielder Tanner Allen for a two-run double.
The Blue Wahoos got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Norel González and Jake Thompson had back-to-back singles. Bennett Hostetler moved both runners into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt, and Allen got the game to 3-2 on an RBI groundout.
But the Blue Wahoos were unable to get another baserunner the rest of the way against reliever Michael Byrne.
The Blue Wahoos (69-54), who have already surpassed last season’s win total, will now try get a split in the six-game series in the homestand finale on Sunday afternoon.
Righthander Evan Fitterer (6-6, 4.76 ERA) will make his 21st start for the Blue Wahoos on Sunday against Chattanooga righthander Sam Benschoter (6-10, 7.27).
by Bill Vilona, photo Nino Mendez / Pensacola Blue Wahoos
Tate Aggies Crush The PHS Tigers 54-0 (With Photo Gallery)
September 2, 2023
The Tate Aggies crushed the Pensacola High Tigers 54-0 Friday night at Madison Field.
It came on the heels of a big 48-21 Aggie game one loss to Pine Forest. But boy what a difference a week can make.
“Last week, we faced adversity, and the question is after you get a little humble pie, how will you respond? I thought out kids responded well,” head coach Rhett Summerford said. “I’m really proud of the week of practice they had; the seniors really stepped up.”
“I told them this week, the message was I’m going to do everything I can for you, you do everything you can for me, and that’s how we’re building.”
For an action photo gallery, click or tap here. Look for a gallery with fans, the band and cheerleaders in the coming days.
The Aggies were first on the board with a 25-yard touchdown run from senior Andre Colston followed by a 28-yard dash from Colston to make it 14-0.
Tate increased their lead to 21-0 on a 55-yard Christian Nepton run on a pass from Taite Davis. Colston rounded out the Aggie first quarter onslaught from five yards out, 28-0.
In the second quarter, Tate scored again from 47-yards out on a Davis hand off to Carson Secchiari.
The Aggies added a safety with about eight minutes remaining in the half to make it 37-0, and Jackson Clarke kicked a 40-yard field goal with seconds to go before band time .
Next week, it’s a battle of the brothers as the Rhett Summerford’s Tate Aggies (1-1) host Wes Summerford’s Northview Chiefs (0-2) Thursday night in Cantonment. The Chiefs are coming off losses in Alabama to Escambia County and Flomaton.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Blue Devils Top The Northview Chiefs
September 2, 2023
The Escambia County Blue Devils downed the Northview Chiefs 26-14 Friday night in Atmore.
Down 14-0, the Chiefs had a 27-yard run by Devin Kelly to make it 14-7. In the third quarter, Northview tied it up at 14-14 with a 30-yard touchdown run from Wyatt Scruggs, but the Blue Devils then added a dozen unanswered points.
Northview head coach Wes Summerford said the Chiefs simply had too many costly mistakes.
“I just think we gave them too many opportunities on offense,” Summerford said. “Our defense was on the field all night. We turned the ball over. We’ve done that two games in a row. You can’t make those kind of mistakes. We played two good football games, and you can’t do that. We’re going to have to fix it.”
When asked what the Chiefs can take from this game moving forward, Summerford said the little things from the contest.
“We’ll get better at that,” he said. “We’ve got a young group. We’ve got some young guys playing, and we’ve got to grow up in a hurry. It’s going to take some games under our belt, but we’ll get better.”
Next week, it’s a battle of the brothers as the Rhett Summerford’s Tate Aggies (1-1) host Wes Summerford’s Northview Chiefs (0-2) Thursday night in Cantonment. The Aggies beat Pensacola High School 54-0 Friday night.
The Blue Devils (2-0) will travel to Satsuma next Friday night.
Photos by Andrew Garner/Atmore Advance for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
No. 7 UWF Silences Kentucky Wesleyan, 35-3, In Game One Of Kaleb Nobles Era
September 2, 2023
In a year defined by newness, seventh-ranked UWF played like the best version of its old self in a 35-3 blowout win over Kentucky Wesleyan in the season opener for both squads Friday night.
West Florida (1-0) dominated in every phase of the game, racking up 403 yards of total offense while holding the Panthers (0-1) to just 168. The Argos out-rushed the run-heavy Panthers 142 yards to 128 and out-passed them 261 to 40.
“Super excited about how our team played,” first-year head coach Kaleb Nobles said. “They did a great job of competing, chasing the football, what I’ve talked about all fall camp since I’ve been here. Just did a great job of being relentless on defense, being very efficient on offense – running the ball like I thought we should.”
The Argos were a model of methodical success on offense, getting off 66 plays from scrimmage despite the best efforts of Kentucky Wesleyan to burn clock with a deliberate, run-based offense.
Senior quarterback Peewee Jarrett completed 19-of-22 passes for 230 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a pair of first-half scores.
Jarrett, who wowed Pen Air Field crowds with his immense arm in 2022, was a bit more judicious with the deep ball Friday night, partially due to a Panther secondary that erred on the side of preventing big plays.
He still completed his share of deeper throws, including a 51-yarder, but was more willing to take what the Kentucky Wesleyan defense gave him. The end result was an efficiency that served as an early indicator that Jarrett is on his way to achieving one of his and Nobles’ primary goals for 2023.
“Coach Nobles came to me right away and one of the first conversations we had he said I probably left 600 to a thousand yards on the field last year,” Jarrett said. “Plays I could have made getting the ball out quicker, so that was something. If the defense is going to give it, we’re just going to take it.”
Jarrett added, “They were playing really off, didn’t want us to beat them over the top, and we just took everything underneath.”
The West Florida defense proved as dominant as its offensive counterpart, limiting the Panthers to just 10 first downs, forcing four fumbles, and sacking Kentucky Wesleyan quarterback Christian Arrambide twice.
Defensive back Virgil Lemons, a newcomer making his first appearance for UWF after transferring in from UNC-Pembroke, hauled in a key early interception that set up the Argos’ first score.
But it was junior linebacker and UWF mainstay Will Breland who paced the UWF defense, registering seven tackles.
Byron Puryer and John McMullen, both transfers making their Argo debuts, added four tackles and a sack apiece.
“We were all very eager about getting this first game,” Breland said. “We have a lot of athletes, a lot of great players, but we haven’t played together yet. So, it was really good to get that first game under our belt playing together, rushing to the ball. Made some mistakes, but … did a lot of great things. We’re going to clean up on it and come back even better next week.”
It was a big night for Nobles, too, as he made his head coaching debut before a sellout crowd of 4,068 at Pen Air Field.
“I’m just very blessed to be here,” Nobles said. “Very excited to be here. But, really, it’s because of the players. I’m super excited to be here because of guys like Peewee, guys like Will Breland. Everybody downstairs in that locker room. So excited to be the leader of them … I told them yesterday that I am so proud to be their head coach. And I tell them all the time that I love them, because I want them to know that I care about them more than just what they are doing on the field. This is a great opportunity and great university to have the chance to be the head coach.”
The game was all but decided by half as the Argos scored twice in the first quarter and once in the third and took a 21-3 lead into the break.
C.J. Wilson, whose 540-yard, 12-touchdown 2022 made him the most experienced returning tailback for West Florida, carried the ball nine times for 39 yards and a touchdown.
In the receiving corps, John Jiles, a senior transfer from Virginia Union, caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown while Caden Leggett (4-34), Zac Offord (3-48), and KJ Franklin (3-47) gave the Panther secondary fits all game.
Next up for the Argos will be a Sept. 9 visit to McKendree in Lebanon, Illinois.
Photo Emily Miller/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.