High School Football is back! Here's the top story facing all 10 area football teams
Where did the football offseason go?
On Monday, football practice officially began and with it the 2023-2024 season.
The last we saw of football on the Emerald Coast, Choctaw was an overtime loss away from the Final Four, Crestview earned bragging rights in the rivalry with Niceville, Fort Walton Beach finished yet another campaign winless and Baker, Freeport, South Walton and Walton each ended with brief playoff stints.
A lot has changed since. Three-year starters have graduated, stars have transferred and new coaches have settled in. With that said, let's explore the biggest story line surrounding each team.
From the 2022 Season: Revealing your Daily News 2022-23 Players of the year, Coach of the Year and Team of the Year
Looking Ahead Circle your calendar for these 5 Okaloosa/Walton County high school football games in 2023
Baker (8-4 in 2022, Sweet 16 appearance)
The last time Baker lost a 2,000-yard back, the Gators immediately slotted in Kayleb Wagner. Now Wagner departs, leaving the program searching to replace his 200 rushing yards per game and 27 touchdowns.
The simple answer is you don't. Sophomore Wyatt Straight appears to be the best backfield option after rushing for 168 yards and a touchdown last year on just 34 carries. That doesn't breed a ton of optimism for a program steeped in success, but maybe the Wing-T can expand a bit through the air with returning starter and junior quarterback Kase Armstrong returning.
Choctaw (7-6 in 2022, region championship appearance)
Choctaw enters 2023 with lofty expectations, and that region-title-or-bust mindset is rooted in its star tailback Cole Tabb.
Yes, fresh off averaging 185.2 rushing yards per game and finding the end zone 26 times en route to earning USA Today Florida 3A Football Player of the Year and the Daily News Large Schools Offensive POY, the best athlete on the Emerald Coast returns for his swan song.
It helps that dual playmaker Jesse Winslette and his big right arm returns under center, along with a talented O-line. Don't expect the same slow start as 2022. This is at the very least a double-digit win Choctaw program.
Crestview (7-5 in 2022, Sweet 16 appearance)
Year 2 under a head coach is said to be when a program makes the biggest leap. If that's the case, we can't wait to see what Thomas Grant has in store.
The Crestview alum led the Dawgs to the Sweet 16 after a stunning upset of Niceville to open the playoffs, their season ultimately ending at 7-5. But gone is quarterback Jerome Brazan, 1,000-yard rusher Jason Jones, top wideout Issac Thomas and leading tackler Marion Hawthorne.
So where and how do the Dogs reload? It starts with Lazarius Parks and finding a suitable arm to replace Brazan. Expect Crestview to flesh out its depth per usual.
Fort Walton Beach (0-10 in 2022, missed playoffs)
Fort Walton Beach football was once the most coveted coaching job in The Panhandle. But this is no longer the perennial playoff powerhouse that once celebrated state titles in 1991 and 1995.
Bobby Clayton is looking to change that. Inheriting a winless program, the Gulf Breeze native has made serious inroads this offseason in building a competitive product on the field. Welcoming in transfers Harrison Orr, a quarterback/defensive back who recently flashed his athleticism with a third-place finish at the USA Track and Field U20 Championships and committed to play football at Army West Point, and linebacker Zavier Hamilton and tailback Eddie Love Jr. helps. As does hiring six new coaches while retaining some glue coaches like Tommy Johnson.
With an adjusted schedule that doesn't include rivals Niceville and Navarre, suddenly .500 ball seems very attainable. Transfers and the schedule shift have us hopeful.
'Total rebuild': Fort Walton Beach football welcomes change as Bobby Clayton era begins
Freeport (5-6, first-round playoff loss)
It's all about opportunity in Freeport.
Opportunity at quarterback, where seniors Myles Masengale and Cameron Fernandez are competing to build on what Ashton Nunes accomplished in his three years as starter. Opportunity at wideout, where 6-6 sophomore Julius Miles, Junior Brayden Sampson and senior jack-of-all-trades Elijah Ritchie will all see an uptick in usage with all-stater Robbie Durgin gone. And opportunity on the defensive side of the ball, where junior linebacker Cody Campbell and defensive back/OLB Zakade Schiro aim to fill the production lost by Tracker Thomaston.
Navarre (8-3, first-round playoff loss)
Last year, quarterback Hunter Pfiester and wide receiver Terence Marshall connected 37 times for 634 yards and five scores. With lead back Eddie Love Jr. (1,497 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2022) off to FWB and Jaden Reese graduated, the duo will be integral in building on last year's 8-3 campaign.
Pfiester threw for 1,753 yards and 19 touchdowns last season and he'll need the maturation of Anthony Gassaway (44 carries for 224 yards and two TDs in 2022) and Connor Mathews (38 carries for 273 yards and two TDs in 2022) to help carry the load for the Raiders.
Niceville (9-2 last season, first-round playoff exit)
Every year, a Niceville quarterback emerges on the scene and breaks out.
Will Koch in 2019. Trey Wainwright in 2020. Addison Moore in 2021. Harrison Orr in 2022.
Now it's Nino Freeman's turn. The 6-foot-4 transfer comes in from IMG Academy.
Freeman will be protected by what Grant Thompson said is arguably the biggest offensive line Niceville has had this millennium. Freeman is "tall, long, fast," and he's dazzled in the offseason against Mosley in the spring game and a strong South Alabama 7v7 field en route to the title.
With all-state playmaker Maddax Fayard and breakout candidate Landon Isbell heading the wide receiving corps and Deangelo Shorts' stock soaring in the backfield, Freeman has all the resources at his disposal.
Rocky Bayou (4-5 in 2022, missed playoffs)
Welcome to the Knights fam, KC Woods.
Plucked from Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy), Robert Vilardo's successor has never missed the playoffs in his seven years of coaching to pair with a 51-25 record. He brings with him a spread offense and a 4-3 defense, and he'll inherit a crew led by Gideon Rossell, Noah Potts and Ryan Duncan.
South Walton (6-5 in 2022, first-round playoff exit)
We know Carson Hawk and this offense can go vertical.
The 6-4 playmaker threw for 1,623 yards and 17 touchdowns compared to just six interceptions and flashed his wheels with 414 rushing yards and nine scores, leading the Seahawks to a 3-0 start and later a winning campaign. But, with expectations loftier in 2023, can the defense catch up to the offense?
A switch to a 3-4 defense under new defensive coordinator Adam Robertson will aim to do just that, the Seahawks built around their linebackers core of senior Garrett Fancher, a four-year starter, Gavin Trainor and Gavin Garrity
Walton (7-4, first-round playoff exit)
Last year, the Braves averaged 242.6 rushing yards per game and had a 27:20 rushing/passing ratio.
With senior Nuke Mckenzie headlining the backfield and Walton welcoming in a transfer quarterback familiar with running the option in Wells Bettenhausen, expect that reliance on the run game to only strengthen. Mckenzie averaged just a shade over 10 touches per game last year, piling up 1,085 yards and 10 touchdowns while sporting an efficient 8.5 yards per carry. With Lindsay, Jones and Tyson's combined 2,382 yards and 23 scores graduated, there's a clear path to a spike in usage for Mckenzie, who's a sneaky good candidate to eclipse 2,000 yards.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: High school football practice returns for Choctaw, Niceville, FWB, etc
