This time of year, I wish I could be cloned so there could be at least three of me.

For some of you, the thought of one Randy Dickson is frightening enough, but let's face it, if we could split my molecular structure — allowing me to be multiple places at once — I could cover a lot more games and do a lot more stories.

Last Friday night was a perfect example of when I really needed — and wanted — to be in two places at once.

Baker School’s football team opened District 1-1A play at Freeport in a big game for the Gators. At the same time, Crestview High School’s football team hosted Leon for the Homecoming game.

Covering the Baker-Freeport game was a no-brainer: It was a district game, and Baker was looking to improve to 5-0 on the season. Additionally, Freeport is considered somewhat of a local team and is probably the Gators’ second biggest rival behind Jay.

I understand that many parents and students look at Homecoming as a big game, but it's more of an event. The game itself between the Bulldogs and Leon only mattered in the win and loss column. There were no district implications in the game, so it was an easy pass.

Deciding to cover Crestview's football game at Pine Forest this week was even easier. I know the drive to Pensacola and Pine Forest; I'd need my GPS to find North Bay Haven Charter, where Baker plays Friday.

Next week I'll cover the Tate at Crestview game when the school honors the 2013 inductees into the Crestview High School Sports Hall of Fame. The game is one of two District 1-7A games for the Bulldogs, and the only home district game.

Even with all of that working in Crestview's favor, it wasn't easy to pass on the Baker game. The Gators are hosting District 1-1A rival Jay. On top of that, the state championship teams from 1983 and 1993 will be honored.

I know Baker fans will be upset that I'll be at Crestview. And, if I had decided to go to Baker, I would have  upset Crestview supporters.

Sometimes coaches and fans joke with me that I never cover their team or that I don't cover their team enough. And they are correct that I'm not at all of their games or matches — but I until they come up with a way to clone me, I'll continue to weigh each game and the importance it has for the team as opposed to other games being played at the same night.

And the thing is football seasons the easy one as I only have to deal with two high school teams. Things get tougher as basketball and soccer seasons arrive next month, and I have three girls basketball teams, three boys basketball teams and two boys and girls soccer teams. On any given night, there's a possibility of five teams having home games at the same time.

Now if only we could get that clone machine working.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: If only I could be cloned

It's no secret that, as a sports guy, I've not always had the best relationship in the world with the local high school bands.

There have been times when I may have too quickly criticized based on my observations of events unfolding at a football game.

I've written of halftime shows going too long and bands not being in tune to what's happening on the football field as they've played in the stands.

But today I have nothing but praise for Crestview High School's Big Red Machine Marching Band for their efforts at Crestview's game at Navarre on Sept. 20.

The Big Red Machine has never been better at helping the Bulldogs with timely playing than it was against the Raiders.

The volume and impact of the tunes coming from the band overpowered whatever the Raider band could muster. This was especially true in the third quarter when Navarre was driving for the end zone.

On cue, when the Raiders were in front of the band, The Big Red Machine powered up and drowned out any possible chance the Raiders had of communicating with one another. I was in the press box at the time and the Navarre announcers even commented on how much louder the Crestview band was at that key moment in the football game.

There are times when bands and football teams can be competing siblings, each wanting more attention from family and friends. Even in the best of families there can be a little conflict.

Ultimately, it might be safe to say, the football team and band need each other.

A strong high school or college band enhances the game experience. I still get chills down my spine when I see the University of Tennessee's Pride of The Southland Marching Band form a giant "T" and start playing "Rocky Top" as the Volunteers take the field.

And hearing one's school band play the old fight song or alma mater often sends a tear rolling down the cheek of even the most grizzled ex-ball player.

A good band, like the Big Red Machine, remains a source of pride to the school and community when the football team might be going through lean times. That same band can make a difference in helping rally the team late in a tight game.

I also think it's safe to say the Big Red Machine has never lost a halftime show.

I'll always see things from an old football player's perspective, but maybe there is something to this band stuff.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Credit to the Big Red Machine

I ran across a familiar name last week while looking over Navarre High School’s football roster, getting ready for a game between the Raiders and Crestview.

When I saw Brock Barberi, I immediately thought of an old teammate, Tony Barberi, the starting tailback and an inside linebacker on the first winning football team in Gulf Breeze High School history way back in 1974.

I always get a kick out of seeing old teammates and classmates’ children play ball.

I have watched the son of the homecoming queen my senior year play baseball at Washington. And the son of another class beauty play football at Catholic.

Most of the offspring of old classmates have followed in their parents’ footsteps and attended Gulf Breeze. An equally large group has played at Navarre, which wasn't even a dream on the drawing board back in the fall of 1975.

I'm often amazed at how much many of the sons resemble their dads on the playing field. Perhaps they play another position, or they might not be the same size, but I can see many of the athletic skills and traits their dads displayed so long ago.

I'm sure many of you have similar memories watching the sons and daughters of former local stars. I never saw Dexter Day play baseball or football for the Bulldogs, but watching his daughter, Hannah, play catcher for the Crestview softball team from 2008-2011 was a real treat.

Bulldog football and baseball player Matt Gillis is following in the footsteps of his dad, Tim Gillis, the Crestview baseball coach and an assistant football coach. I've been told that Tim was a late bloomer athletically, but his hard work and dedication, along with a growth spurt in college, allowed him to play several years of minor league baseball.

Coaching spouses Kathy and Steve Combest played their high school sports in Mississippi, but their son, Chase and daughter, Chelsea, were multi-sport stars at Baker.

Baker assistant football coach Brian Wagner was a standout receiver in his day for the Gators going on to play college ball at Mississippi College. Brian's son, Logan, started as a receiver, but played quarterback his junior and senior years.

Logan had opportunities to play college football, but he wasn't willing to sacrifice academics for athletics. Logan's sister, Haley, was another in the line of children following the athletic success of their parents. Haley was a star volleyball and basketball player at Baker, and like her brother, she opted for the academic side of college life.

If I'm still on the job in four or five years I might start covering the grandchildren of old teammates and the children of athletes I covered when I first arrived in Okaloosa County in December of 2000.

Time stops for no man. And the passing seasons are full of surprises and reminders that the greatest legacy an athlete leaves is not in the record book, but in the happy and active children they raise.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Celebrating generations of sports

With four state championships to its credit, Baker School’s football team has as many titles as the other Okaloosa County schools combined.

But in recent years, the Gator program has fallen on what many would consider hard times.

Baker won the last of the four championships in 1993. The Gators won their last playoff game in 2001 and last made the playoffs in 2008.

Yes, there has been a bit of a drought for the proud team.

Things have been looking up recent years. Three years ago, former Gator standout Matt Brunson was named Baker’s head football coach after 10 years as the Crestview High School head coach.

Brunson's first two teams turned in winning records going 7-3 and 6-4. The back-to-back winning seasons were the first at Baker in close to a decade.

The Gators are off to another strong start this year, winning their first three games by a combined score of 132-54.

Baker routed an outmanned Holmes County team 55-6 on Friday and the game wasn't as close as the score indicated.

It might be early in the season, but talk is starting to turn toward Baker's Nov. 1 trip to Northview and an 8-0 Gator team taking on the defending state champion Chiefs for the District 1-1A title.

The Gators are off this week before going on the road Sept. 27 to play Rocky Bayou Christian.

The Gators follow their trip to Rocky Bayou with a trip to Freeport for the district opener. After the Freeport game, Baker heads to North Bay Academy on Oct. 11 before returning home for the War of Highway 4 against rival Jay.

The Gators will honor members of the 1983 and 1993 state championship teams the night of the Jay game.

Franklin County follows Jay on the Baker schedule, setting the stage for the big battle at Northview. The Gators close out the regular season at home against South Walton on Nov. 8.

A lot can happen in the next six weeks, but there is no reason to believe this Baker squad isn't capable of running the table heading into the Northview game. In fact, while I know coaches don't like to talk playoffs too early, I'll be surprised if the Gators aren't 8-0 when they face the Chiefs.

Senior tailback D.J. Thomas has been almost unstoppable in the first three games, having scored eight touchdowns and run for more than 580 yards.

Sophomore quarterback Jon Beck is quickly coming into his own as a passing threat, which opens up holes for Thomas and the other Gator running backs.

Defensively, the Gators are rock solid. If they are suspect on defense it might be in the secondary, where teams with great speed might give them trouble, but Baker won't see that kind of speed until Nov. 1.

Anything can happen in the next six or seven weeks, but there is reason for Gator fans to be optimistic.

Time will tell if the 3-0 start propels the Gators to the playoffs, but if I was a betting man my money would be on the Gators.

The talent and time is right for Baker to make another run at, and deep into, the playoffs.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Gators could make playoff run

I have long believed that the University of West Florida needed a football team.

Pensacola gave the football world Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith. The city also has produced more than its fair share of football talent.

The wait will so be over as beginning in 2016, the school will field a football team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II, West Florida announced Sept. 4. It will play in the Gulf South Conference, in which the school's athletic teams are now competing.

There will be no mistaking West Florida football for games in the Southeastern Conference. Most Division II athletes are a few pounds lighter or a step or two slower than the so-called Big Time programs are seeking.

Division II schools are allotted 36 total football scholarships as opposed to the 85 Division I Bowl Subdivision schools have or the 63 that the Division I Championship Subdivision can offer.

Thirty-six scholarships for a varsity football team might not seem like much, but for a young man dreaming of playing the game each of those scholarships the Pensacola school offers will represent another opportunity to play college football.

Northwest Florida is a hotbed for high school talent stretching from the Alabama-Florida state line east to Panama City. But most young men who take the field in local stadiums on Friday nights never again play organized football after they graduate from high school. Maybe the addition of a team at West Florida will open the door for some of those kids to play college football close to home.

Several local players would easily benefit from having a Division II school two counties away. I think of former Baker running back Cameron Domangue, and I have to believe he would have been a perfect fit at West Florida.

Domangue played a year or two at Division III Birmingham-Southern — which doesn't offer athletic scholarships — before transferring to West Florida to finish his education.

I've lost track of how many Okaloosa County football players have made their way to Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama or some other state to play football at a Division II school.

Now, if that kid works as hard in the classroom as he does on the football field, he might be able to get some sort of academic scholarship to help with the cost of his education. Moms and dads also will be able to drive an hour or so to Pensacola to see their sons play college football.

Having moved to Gulf Breeze in 1966, I'm old enough to remember those early years of UWF. The school opened its doors in the fall of 1967 and was a two-year school for juniors and seniors.

Football wasn't even a dream in those early days.

Soon, a whole new world will be open for local football players.

This year's high school sophomore class will be college freshmen in the fall of 2016. I'll be looking for some of those players on that first UWF football team.

Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Football at West Florida makes sense