Week 4 Roundup: Escambia cruise in district opener while Pine Forest falls, Jay remains perfect
A roundup of Week 4 games involving Pensacola-area teams from Friday, Sept. 15
District 1-3S
Escambia 37, Fort Walton Beach 0
In their district opener against a talented and much-improved opponent, the Gators made a statement by thrashing the Vikings from Steve Riggs Stadium.
The visitors scored 16 points - highlighted by a safety - in the first quarter and another 14 in the second before a touchdown in the third started a running clock.
"I thought we played really well," Escambia head coach Mike Bennett said. "We got up early and put (the Vikings) in a bind."
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Bennett credited a "lights out" defensive performance, namely senior defensive end Ryan McVay and the rest of the defensive line for the victory. Senior defensive lineman D.K Hines recovered a fumble while junior linebacker Ja'key Hopkins notched an interception.
Offensively, the Gators and their aerial attack moved the ball. Quarterback Anthony Hall found his receivers for touchdowns, as Diego Dukes crossed the goal line twice while Cam Mayo and Joshua Jackson each scored once. Dorrion White added a touchdown on the ground.
Meanwhile, junior kicker Morgan Stancliff connected on all five of her extra-point attempts.
Improving its record to 3-1 overall, Escambia hits the road again for a non-district game at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Milton. The following week, the team is returns to district action as it hosts Booker T. Washington.
"It's always good to get a district win. If you want a chance to win to the district, you got to win the first one," Bennett said. "We still have to go to Choctaw and Pine Forest with the way the schedule worked out. But it's a tough district and we have to play one game at a time."
—Patrick Bernadeau
Choctaw 35, Pine Forest 14
The No. 1 team in the PNJ Power Poll has been defeated.
Following a 15-point fourth quarter, Choctaw was victorious over Pine Forest, handing the Eagles their first loss of the season from Joe Etheredge Stadium. This is the second time the Indians have spoiled an undefeated run for Pine Forest, after Choctaw won in the regional semifinals last season – ending the Eagles' chance at a perfect 2022 campaign.
Choctaw scored in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead before a back-and-forth second quarter made it 21-7 in favor of the Indians at halftime. While the visitors clawed back with another touchdown in the third, the home team sealed the deal with 15 points in the final frame.
Miquele Brock Jr. scored twice in the contest for Pine Forest.
The Eagles (3-1, 0-1 District 1-3S) play at 7 p.m. on Friday at West Florida.
—Ben Grieco
Non-district games
Pace 28, Crestview 0
Squeaking out a last-second road victory the week before, the Patriots left no doubt as they were the stronger team Friday night in a shutout victory over the Bulldogs at Pace High School.
Per usual, Pace featured a heavy dose of the ground game behind junior signal caller Nick Simmons, senior Coastal Carolina commit Xakery Wiedner and company. Meanwhile, the defense came up huge when it counted most, including stopping a key long opening second-half drive to preserve the zero on the scoreboard.
Patriots head coach Kent Smith was impressed with the overall effort, but his squad still needs to clean some things up for its next game: a district road matchup with Gulf Breeze.
“We played well, it will get better,” Smith said. “We’ve got to get more disciplined and get better. If we can do that, we can be a better team. The defense did a great job shutting them out, and we made some big plays on offense.”
After trading punts to start the game, Pace (3-1) wasted little time scoring on its second possession. Simmons darted 34 yards to the Patriots 49-yard line, then found Wiedner over the middle at the Crestview 28. The senior athlete quickly turned on the speed and out-raced the defenders for a 51-yard touchdown with 5 minutes, 8 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Patriots stymied the Bulldogs on their next possession with a sack on fourth down near midfield. On its ensuing march, the home team mounted a long drive, and Wiedner capped it off with another score on a reverse to make it a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
Pace’s defense played a bend-but-not-break game with Crestview.
The Bulldogs ended the half with a long drive that stalled at the Patriots 19. Then, Crestview ate up much of the third quarter before once again having nothing to show for it, running out of gas at the Pace 18.
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After previously forcing two turnovers on downs, the Patriots intercepted a pair of errant passes in the fourth quarter. Crestview neared the red zone, but Wiedner was once again in the right place at the right time. He intercepted a tipped pass in the end zone, then ran all the way to the Bulldog 48 before refs tacked on 15 yards for a late hit on the return.
He eventually scored on an 15-yard option run to put Pace up 21-0.
“I was locked in all night. … I couldn’t even sleep last night,” Wiedner said. “I just knew today was going to be a big day for me. This was definitely a big step forward from the past weeks. I feel as a team, we’re headed in the right direction.”
Pace soon capitalized on an interception by Nathaniel Lyons, Jr., as Simmons ran a short keeper to close out the scoring with 5:42 remaining.
“We did a great job defensively. Our defense has really stepped up a lot,” Simmons said. “They’re great leaders and stepped it up in practice this week. It was a great win. Our offensive line showed improvement and they were really good. Xakery is a great athlete, and he really showed that tonight.”
—Mac Knefely
Bay 35, Pensacola 0
The Tigers are still looking for their first score of the season after a Week 4 loss at Bay.
No quarter-by-quarter scores were provided, nor were any stats from the game.
Pensacola (0-4) travels for a 7 p.m. game at Gulf Breeze on Friday.
—Ben Grieco
Jay 14, Baker 3
The curse is over.
For more than a decade, the Royals were the nail to the Gators' proverbial hammer. That all ended Friday night as Jay triumph on the road to end a 15-game losing streak against Baker.
The Royals' last win in this matchup: Nov. 6, 2009.
"We're just so excited. ... The kids are so excited. It's just great to see the smiles on their faces," Royals head coach Brian Watson said. "We've been close, but to go over there and beat them on their own field was special tonight.
With the home team dominating the ball with its Wing-T formation, the visitors only produced 132 yards of total offense. However, with tremendous kickoff returns from Grayson Shehan, Jay (4-0) didn't have to go far to put up its points.
Shehan entered the end zone on a 3-yard run during the first half. Then after halftime, the road team increased its cushion when Hayden Morris completed a pass to Ethan McDonald for a touchdown.
Defensively, Weston Salter and Joe Norris each collected 12 tackles. Nicholas Baxley had a sack to go with seven stops while Jackson Durst pulled down an interception.
"Baker controlled the whole game as far as time of possession and keeping the ball away from us," Watson said. "Baker did everything they needed to win the game, but for us to come out on top is just a testament to our defense. We bent, but didn't break."
With their longest winning streak since winning five games in a row in 2017, the Royals are off next week. They'll return to the field on Sept. 29 at Destin. The Sharks are currently 4-0.
"To be 4-0 going into our bye week, we're just ecstatic about that. But the schedule just keeps getting tougher," Watson said. "I expect Destin to win next week and they'll be 5-0 when we go over there. Then the following week, we have Holmes County, who is probably one of the best teams in the region, and then Northview. So in the next month, we'll play three very good football teams."
—Patrick Bernadeau
Northview 35, Lighthouse Private Christian Academy 0
The Chiefs are finally in the win column.
Starting the season with three frustrating road losses, Northview took care of business by blanking the Stingrays in its home opener from Tommy Weaver Memorial Football Stadium.
"I'm just proud of our kids. They just keep coming back every week ready to work, and we finally got the W," Chiefs head coach Wes Summerford said. "We going to try to string a few together now. We really need to go on a run here and we're going to try and get that done."
Senior fullback Joe Wright V posted two touchdowns for the home team. Devin Kelly and Wyatt Scruggs each reached pay dirt as well. On the other side of the ball, Summerford believes his team's play was a return to its identity.
"We got back to Northview football," he said. "We got some young kids, and those kids are starting to learn how to tackle. I thought we did a really good job of that tonight. We eliminated some of the mistakes that we've been making, and if we knock a few more out, I think we'll have a good defense."
Following a bye week, the Chiefs (1-3) play on Sept. 29 at Elberta (Ala.).
—Patrick Bernadeau
Mac Knefely is a sports contributor for the Pensacola News Journal.
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Week 4 Football: Escambia routs FWB in District 1-3S opener, Pine Forest falls
