The Gators were bigger, stronger, more athletic and more experienced.

That didn’t keep the Lions from roaring early as they took a quick 6-2 lead. The lead didn’t last long as a basket by Joshua Prows with 4:52 left in the first quarter put Baker in front and the Gators never looked back on their with to a 58-39 win.

With four freshmen on the varsity, it’s little surprise that the Lions were no match for the Gators.

The one thing Aletheia did well was shoot the 3-point shot. The Lions connected on 10 buckets from beyond the arch to go along with three free throws and three 2-point baskets.

The Gators had the luxury of size on the inside and the ability to play in the paint or beyond the 3-point line.

Senior point guard Andrea Johnson paced the Gators with 18 points scoring from all over the court.

Prows was too much for the Lions to handle on the inside as he added 12 points. Stephen McCosker was the third Gator in double figures with 10 points. Many of McCosker’s scores came on hustle plays following shots and scoring off rebounds.

Baker coach Brent Zessin liked what he saw on Thursday.

“I’m pleased with their effort, their attitude and the character they showed,” he said. “I was able to let everybody play. And we kept them under 40 points.

Jackson did most of his damage in the first quarter scoring 14 of his 18 points. Those 14 points accounted for most of the 19 points Baker scored in the period as the Gators led 19-9 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was sluggish for both teams as Baker outscored the visitors 10-6 in the quarter. McCosker and Prows continued to do the heavy lifting near the basket for Baker. Noah Cobb found the basket from long-range hitting a 3-pointer.

The Lions refused to go away and kept things interesting in the third quarter as Baker was only able to tack two more points onto the lead as the Gators were up 45-29 at the end of the third quarter.

Baker continued to pull away in the fourth quarter cruising to the 19-point win.

But when Laurel Hill School needed a new boys basketball coach to replace community coach Shannon Gordon with part of the duties taking on the responsibilities being the Hobo athletic director, Davis decided to make one more stop.

His reasons are those close to his heart.

“My dad (Lyndell) actually went here back in the day,” Davis said. “When I was playing and coaching, Laurel Hill was always one of those places with rich tradition and history.

“You look around and see the banners and Grover Hicks (former Hobo coach) is a very good friend of mine. I played against him when I was a player.”

Lyndell Davis coached the Crestview boys basketball team to their first final four appearance in 1967.

“I was retired, and I wasn’t looking for a job,” Davis said. “Some people contacted me and said it had been a struggle the last few years. They wanted to know if I could come in and help get things back on track.

“I like the challenge. I did at Paxton, and I did it at Freeport. They were in pretty bad shape, and I was able to turn those programs around.”

Davis didn’t officially start the job until after school was in session and didn’t have the opportunity to put the team through summer workouts that are now a way of life for all high school sports.

“It will be after Christmas before we are up to speed, to be honest with you,” he said. “We are probably the only public school in the state of Florida that doesn’t have a basketball class during the day.”

Davis conducted his eighth practice with the team on November 15 which shows how big his challenge is.

He has been impressed with his players saying the Hobo athletes are good kids and the team will get good leadership from the seniors.

In a perfect world, Davis would have the Hoboes run a man defense, but with the late start he doesn’t have time to teach that this year.

Laurel Hill’s offense will take the fight to the opposing defense.

“We like to push the ball up the court,” Davis said. “We want to play fast, but not in a hurry. We like to shoot the three, especially on the end of the (fast) break.”

The biggest commitment Davis is making is to restore Hobo Pride in the boys basketball program.

“One thing I promise the community is we are going to have a team they can be proud of,” he said.

Chessher played on several Fort Walton Beach teams that made it the state final four. She also played college basketball and served as an assistant coach at Fort Walton Beach under her high school coach,  Holley McDaniel. So when Chessher speaks her Lady Panthers should listen.

“We are always going to work hard and bring our best foot forward,” Chessher said. “That’s what I tell te girls every day. At the end of the day, it’s a developmental level.

“So we really don’t care that much about wins and losses. I want to compete and get the best out of my girls.”

Along with a competitive spirit, Chessher wants her team play with pride.

“I want them to have a sense of honor to wear the jersey,” she said. “We are continuing to make history in the game of basketball and I think that’s what we should continue doing.”

Rhea Penn, an eighth grader that plays guard is a player Chessher will look to as a leader of the team.

“We are definitely leaning on Rhea Penn,” Chessher said. “She played a lot of travel ball over the summer and it’s really showing.

“And Teagan Foley is just consistent with a (basketball) IQ that is very high for someone of her age. We will definitely lean on those two.”

Jaezelle Guzman is in her first year of middle school, but the future looks bright for the sixth grader.

Chessher, who stands 6-foot-4, was a force in the paint during her playing days. She knows all the inside moves a player might need, but she admits to the Lady Panthers being a little size challenged.

“We are a little small when it comes to the post players, but they work hard,” she said. “They just really have to bust it out there.”

Even without a true post player Chessher wants to play a style similar to what her team would with a  true inside presence.

“I want to play that inside out game,” she said. “That’s something to keep it open for the guards to hit their shots. “It’s definitely challenging when you’re trying to teach those fundamentals.”

“Like most coaches do, I expect big things,” the former Baker standout said. “We’ve got some good guard play. We have three returners coming back.”

Rara Trawick, JD Dortch and Jalen Thomas are the returning starters for the Panthers. Chasen Lawerence is another eighth graders Rose will lean on heavily.

“I’ve got 12 eighth-graders,” Rose said. “Historically, if you have a bunch of eighth-graders, you usually compete (for championships).”

Thomas, known affectionately as “Smiley,” puts a smile on Rose’s face when he talks about his big man who played the offensive line for that Panther championship football team.

“He’s a dog,” Rose said of Thomas. “People think that because he is so large, he doesn’t have touch around the basket, but he does

“He has great footwork. With Jalen we are going to be able to work the ball inside out.”

Having a veteran team gives Rose the opportunity to keep building on lessons learned in the past.

“I think we’re well-rounded in every facet of the game,” he said. “It’s just a matter of executing and doing what we’re supposed to do.

“These guys genuinely like each other. They generally play hard. We’re not out here coaching attitude and effort and that’s huge.

If the Panthers were to win the boys basketball championship they would be the current holders of the baseball, football and boys basketball championship. Rose led the Davidson baseball team to the county title last spring.

Rose knows winning the championship won’t be easy in a county that has long been proud of its basketball tradition.

He thinks four or five teams could compete for the championship that was Bruner won last year. And he believes the Panthers will be among those teams with a real shot at winning the title.

“This is probably one of the most athletic teams we’ve had,” Phillips said. “A couple of years ago we won a championship with a pretty athletic team. I see this team being more athletic and we are actually younger.”

For those unfamiliar the coaching style of Phillips, it is one that understands his athletes are middle school kids a playing a game.

“I want them to play hard and have fun,” Phillips said. “That’s what we preach in practice. It’s give your best effort because we know you are going to make mistakes.”

As a rule, Phillips prefers a man-to-man defense. And as crazy as it sounds about an athletic team, the Mustangs will run a lot of zone this year to utilize their athleticism.  

One of the Mustang athletes that immediately catches everyone’s attention is eight grader Jaden Goldsmith.

“He’s going to play a little bit of wing an a lot of post,” Phillips said. “He kind of versatile.

“Justin Singletary is another eighth grader. His speed and motor are second to none. He’ll be at guard and do a great job for us.”

Nelson Drake is a long and athletic seventh grader capable of playing multiple positions. Caden Glove is a sixth grader that is showing potential. Phillips said it’s just a matter of him getting comfortable at the middle school level.

Phillips expects Crestview to be well represented in the race of a county championship.

“I think we will be one of the four,” he said. “Definitely, Davidson will be there. We played against Ruckle last Thursday and they are not as athletic as they have been, but they play hard

“I could see Ruckle being one of those teams and definitely Meigs and Bruner.”

The biggest concerns Phillips has are the ones shared by every coach in every sport where academic eligibility is required.

“It’s just to stay healthy and make sure the guys keep up their grades,” he said. “If we can stay healthy and stay eligible, I think we will be fine.”

Gillis recently took a few minutes to discus the Lady Mustangs and his expectations for the 2023-24 season.

“We are going to be really young this year,” he said. “We’ve got a ton of seventh graders that are going to play a lot of minutes. We are going to work hard to get better every week, every day.

“This is all aimed at getting the girls ready for Crestview High School, that’s our main goal.”

The results of preseason games such as the one played between the Lady Mustangs and Davidson on Nov. 15 really don’t matter much, if any at all. What is important to Gillis is the way his players compete.

“I thinks it’s always good to be in a close game at the end,” Gillis said. “The more times you’re there, the more comfortable you get. It’s just a great opportunity moving forward.”

The Lady Mustangs might be young, but they should have plenty of talent.

Even with an abundance of youth, Gillis will count on eighth grader Kass Day to lead the way.

“She’s going to be a driving force for us,” he said. “We are going to give her the ball all she wants.

“Alyssia Whittingham, she is going to be good. And we have Victoria Johnson who is going to have to be big for us.”

Gillis also mentioned Genesis Saul. Whittingham, Johnson and Saul are seventh graders.

“They are working on their skills every day,” Gillis said of his talented group of seventh graders. “And they are hungry.” Gillis said the race to the Okaloosa County championship should again be wide open. How well the Lady Mustangs do could very well depend on how quickly the younger talent develops.

With that in mind the veteran coach had to hit the ground running as he took on the task of restoring the once proud Laurel Hill tradition.

Davis is keeping with the basics of a zone defense and an up tempo offense.

“We are going to play nine or 10 people every game,” he said. “Shooting the ball is a hallmark of a good team and I think we are going to be able to shoot it pretty well. We want to play fast and play hard..

“Our two senior guards are Rayner Palacio and Adrian McCrae.”

Davis expects big things from A.J. Chilton as well.

Lining up together in practice the Hoboes seem to have decent size for a 1A team. Davis said he had the same impression until Laurel Hill took to the court for preseason game.

District 1-1A has always been tough and this year looks to be no exception.

Joining the Hoboes in the district are Baker, Central, Freeport, Jay, Northview and Paxton.

Davis admits he hasn’t seen everyone yet, but he does have a read on the district.

He thinks Freeport will be strong and Jay will have a tall and athletic team.

And then there is Paxton, the rival to the east.

“Freeport probably has one of the best players in school history (Julius Miles),” Davis said. “Jeff Bradley got to Paxton a few years after I was there, but he does a great job every year.”

The Hoboes kick off the home portion of the Davis era on Nov. 30 when they host Bethlehem.

Former University of Arkansas basketball coach Nolan Richardson labeled his pressing defensive philosophy that led to quick Razorback baskets, “Forty minutes of hell,” in reference to the 40 minutes of regulation play in a college game.

Richardson likely would have been impressed with the Bulldogs on Thursday as they closed out the preseason with a 65-35 win over South Walton in which Crestview held the Seahawks scoreless in the third quarter in a stretch lasting close to 12 minutes that went from late in the second quarter to early in the fourth quarter.

Watson was pleasantly surprised when he realized Crestview held the Seahawks scoreless in the third quarter. In many ways that fits into the philosophy he has for this edition of the Bulldogs.

“The thing we’ve been talking about is every game this whole year we are going to have to play teams differently (from one game to the next),” he said. “The first half we stressed help and stop on defense.

“In the second half it is helping and closing out and making them drive (the lane),” Watson continued. “Obviously, our press hurt them. I’m even more proud of our half-court defense in the second half than our press.”

The Bulldogs are the de facto preseason champions of Walton County in games played at Choctaw as they opened the tournament with a win over Walton on Tuesday, Nov. 14 before taking down the Seahawks.

Makhi Jones led all scorers with 22 points. A.J. Johnson joined Jones in double figures with 11 points.

Crestview opens the regular season at home against Escambia on Nov. 30.

“You know as well as we play tonight, it means nothing if we go out and don’t play well against Escambia,” Watson said. “We’ve got a chance to be really good. I think we shoot it better than we have in the past few years.

“But they still need to get that confidence,” Watson continued. “If you get a couple of steals and can make a couple of shots and then you know everything’s going good. You just automatically play with more confidence”