“I just like being that nasty guy, being aggressive and making plays,” said Reeves, an incoming senior.

Don’t mistake Reeves for just being a big brute in the middle. He’s more than a strong guy playing football. He’s a real athlete playing the outfield and catcher on the Crestview baseball team.

Tim Gillis is the Bulldog defensive coordinator as well as the head baseball coach and he knows what Reeves is capable of.

“He’s extremely athletic for a big man,” Gillis said. “He’s a really good athlete. He’s got really good feet.

“A lot of times people think that guys that play down there on the front line are not good athletes, but he’s definitely the exception to that,” he added.

Reeves doesn’t take his athleticism for granted.

“I’m just really blessed with the ability I have,” he said. “And I just work hard and try to make the best of it.”

Playing the line, whether offense or defense, can often be a thankless job. Yes, a defensive lineman gets to make tackles, but their primary job is to keep the blockers off the linebackers so they can make plays.

Reeves understands that part of the job and he relishes doing his part to help the defense.

“I take pride in it a lot because I know I’m doing my job,” he said.”

Gillis is happy to have Reeves as the anchor on the defensive line.

“He’s a rock down in the one technique (lining up on the center’s outside shoulder) and the three technique (lining up between the guard and tackle), if we needed him to do that,” Gillis said. “He’s athletic so he commands a double team a lot. The way we run the defense, (Reeves taking the double team) is everything.”

Reeves grew up in Crestview and he fully embraces everything the town and school represent.

“The friendships and bonds you have with the coaches and the entire town are just great,” he said.

Reeves knows that as a senior he will be expected to carry more weight on the team literally and figuratively.

“I feel like I need to be a leader because I’ve been on varsity for couple years now,” he said. “We’re going to be young with a lot of sophomores.

“We just want to work hard and be a family like we were last year,” Reeves added.

Gillis believes Reeves is ready to fill that leadership role.

“He had a really, really good spring and we’re looking for big things out of him,” Gillis said. “He’s turning into a leader. His teammates respect him and obviously his coaches do.

“He’s going to have to be one of those stabilizing forces that they look to when things may not be going our way,” he added. “He’s got that in him and he’s got that leadership style. He’s definitely going to be a guy that people look forward to see how he handles things and follow suit of what he does.”

“The energy was good and they competed hard,” Baker coach Barry Gardner said. “There were a couple of things where they have to pay attention. It was small things like alignment and when they were supposed to get set.

“It’s in the details, but we’ve got plenty of time to fix details (during the summer),” he added.

All three Baker teams, the varsity, junior varsity and middle school, were able to get on the field. As the fear of a lightning stoppage increased, the high school players were on one end of the field and the middle school players on the other.

Running back Jacob Beckworth made a strong showing for himself, scoring two touchdowns for the varsity. Wyatt Straight had a long scoring run, as did Judah Morse.

Riley Renfroe didn’t find the endzone during the scrimmage, but Gardner likes what he has seen from the rising sophomore, not only in the game, but throughout the spring.

“Riley Renfroe really had a good spring.” Gardner said. “He didn’t play varsity last year. He’s going to be a safety for us and he’s going to be one of our running backs.”

Renfroe wasn’t the only rising sophomore to impress Gardner.

“Makani Abdon had a great spring,” Gardner said. “He’s a freshman who started on varsity last year. He’s really gotten a lot better with his footwork, it helps him a lot.”

Gardner wouldn’t be a football coach if he didn’t have some concerns heading into the summer.

“We don’t have much depth at defensive back,” he said. “And then the speed of the game for some of the young kids (is a problem).

“A bunch of them are playing hard, but they have to get used to the speed of the game,” Gardner added.

Unlike the Red and White game played on May 12, there was no lightning to send the teams to the locker room as the players pushed on through the rain.

The game was more of a controlled scrimmage. There was no game clock or play clock.

Each offense was given a set amount of plays before yielding the field to the opposing offense.

If there was a winner Friday, it was Mother Nature, who controlled the game making the field slippery and sloppy. If the Bulldogs or the Tigers were in need of a wet ball drill, they had 90 minutes of one.

Both teams were winners in that no player seemed to suffer a serious injury on, what at times seemed to be a treacherous field.

Crestview head coach Thomas Grant said the options were limited as to what alternative dates were available in the decision to go ahead and play. Given the weather in Northwest Florida in May, there were no guarantees that the conditions would have been better on another day.

“We definitely didn’t want to play tomorrow (Saturday, May 20) and have them (the Tigers) have to come back over here,” he said. “So it is unfortunate. But a positive is moving forward, you know what it’s like in the fall if there’s a wet weather game.

“It’s definitely some of the worst weather conditions I’ve played in.”

The steady rain limited the ability of the players to move with confidence and make plays as they might on a dry surface. Grant said he still saw enough to know what the Bulldogs need to work on during the summer.

“We have a lot of work to do this summer,” he said. “We have to do a better job of knowing what we’re doing. We have to do a better job of playing to the whistle.

 “There is definitely more things to work on than the positive things.”

 That’s not to say Grant didn’t find positive things from Friday’s contest.

“I thought Patrick Rogers played very well tonight,” he said. “He’s an explosive freshman.

“I thought defensively Nick Blackshears did a very good job. He played hard and played to the whistle. I was very proud of him tonight.”

Grant noted that Jaden Appleby had a couple of long runs that probably would have been touchdowns on a dry field.

He saw good things from his quarterbacks too.

“I thought Nocher (Nathan “Turtle”) did a good job of helping the young guys when they didn’t know what to do,” Grant said. “I thought he did a really good job of managing the offense.

“I thought Jaysian McQueen came in and ran the ball hard. We just have to finish (a drive) when we get it inside the 5-yard line.”

Grant said he feels good about both Nocher and McQueen at quarterback and expects to see a spirited competition between the two throughout the summer and fall camp.

Grant admitted the wet conditions might have taken some aggressiveness away from his defensive players.

“When you are unsure of your footing, you second guess yourself,” he said. “You just have to keep your base underneath you (weight distributed with good balance) so you can make a play.”

The Bulldogs have the next two weeks off before opening summer drills on June 5.

“It feels personal,” he said of his upcoming senior campaign. “I want to do the best I possibly can to make it further (in the playoffs) than we did the last couple of years. I feel like it’s going to be a good year.

“The motivation (is there) being a senior and wanting to go as far as you can in your last year of high school football,” he added.

At 6-foot-1 and 260 pounds, Clark is cut from the same mold as many high school linemen.

His height doesn’t always come into play, but against some of the taller defensive linemen, it can serve to his advantage when establishing leverage for a block as he tries to get underneath them.

“I think it helps a little bit,” he said. “Mostly every kid (he goes against) is about my height. But the big boys, it really does help.”

Clark has played most positions on the line in his previous three seasons on the Baker varsity team. Gator coach Barry Gardner said his having played multiple positions is a real advantage for Clark and the Gators.

“Dustin has played both center and guard,” Gardner said. “Two years ago, he was our center and last year he was a guard. He knows both very well and he’s very strong.

“When he gets his hands on you, he does a very good job,” he added. “He’s very explosive and very quick. It’s big having a guy that has started alongside Kurt (Armstrong) and Leeroy (Pierce). They’ve played a lot of snaps together, so it helps.”

With a bench press of 380 pounds and a squat of more than 530, Gardner said Clark is one of the strongest players on the team. When combining Clark’s strength with his other physical attributes, he is a perfect fit for what the Gators need in a lineman in their Wing-T offense.

“He’s the quickest lineman we have on the team, and that’s why he is pulling (running across the formation to block a defender on the other end of the line of scrimmage) a lot,” Gardner said. “He’s also a very good down blocker (blocking the player in his immediate area). The positive he gives us is he can block down, and he can also pull.

“A lot of guys can’t do both, especially in high school. Football is just something I enjoy doing,” Clark said. “I love it. It’s always been something I’ve been motivated to do since elementary school.”

There seems to be a certain mold for a Baker School athlete. They aren’t always the biggest or the fastest on the field, but the work ethic handed down from one generation of Gators to the next is all but unmatched in Northwest Florida.

Clark, who arrived at Baker in the third grade, takes pride in that mindset.

“Baker football is all about hard work and toughness,” Clark said. “If you are not mentally tough and physically tough, you’re not going to make it out here. We usually have a pretty good group of people out here.”

Clark’s mental and physical toughness have served him well in his desire to be the best player possible. He has worked tirelessly since his freshman season to establish excellence on the field working with offensive line coach David Oglesby and offensive coordinator Rob Armstrong.

“At first, I really wasn’t the greatest,” he said. “I just made sure I came after practice a lot. I had O-1 (Oglesby working with me) and I would just be hitting the bag getting my steps right. Coach (Armstrong) would give me a play and tell me a play and I would tell him where I had to block and kind of that process until I was locked in on every play and I knew what to do.”

Up until last season Clark was almost exclusively an offensive lineman. Because the Gators had fewer players on the roster last year, Clark had to do double duty playing defense as well.

Having played full-time on both sides of the ball, there’s no doubt where Clark wants to be.

“I’m definitely an offensive guy,” he said. “I like pulling and hitting someone. It’s probably my favorite thing ever.”

Clark dreams of playing college football and is confident he will be able to put in the work to succeed at the college level.

“I’d like to play at the next level,” he said. “That’s one of my goals is to make it to the next level just because I feel like I’ve worked hard. I know if I keep working hard enough, I can make it there and I think I can perform well.”

A strong senior season for Baker will only enhance Clark’s opportunity to play college football.

Gardner is counting on Clark having that great senior season.

“He’s going to have a big year for us,” the coach said. “He had a great year for us last year. He’s getting better every day.

“He’s gotten stronger and faster and better for us on offense and defense,” Gardner added.

Baker ended its spring football on Tuesday. Crestview ends practice on Friday when the Bulldogs host Pensacola High in a spring game at 6 p.m.

The game is more of a controlled scrimmage that will give players on both teams a chance to test their skills against athletes from another team.

“What we’re going to do is get three series of 12 plays from the minus 40 (the team’s own 40 that is 60 yards from the goal line), and we’re going to rotate (between teams),” said Crestview head coach Thomas Grant. “So essentially, we’re going to move the ball.

“If we score on six plays, we come back to the minus 40 and start over again. We are going to do three series of that and then we’re going to do a couple series from the plus 40 (in the opponent’s territory) and then a couple series from the plus 20.”

Grant said each team will get a total of 56 offensive snaps, which is about the same number a high school team will have in a typical game.

The scrimmage will be limited to the respective varsity squads so the coaching staffs will have an opportunity to test players competing for varsity playing time in a live situation against another team.

The Bulldogs had their Red and White game last week with many projected starters sitting out. Those players, if healthy, will play against the Tigers.

“There’s a couple of guys like Jaden (Appleby) and some others … that have separated themselves from the pack that didn’t dress in the Red and White game,” Grant said. “It will be nice to go against somebody that doesn’t know our offense or defense to see how we do as coaches.”

A position might not be won or lost based on how a player performs against the Tigers, but how they step up when the lights are on will be a factor.

“You look at practice and (players are) being evaluated every day, but it will definitely be intensified finally getting to hit somebody else,” Grant said. “There are players that aren’t good practice players, but when the lights come on they’re definitely gamers.

“As coaches we would like for them to show us in practice,” he added. “But that’s what the spring game was for. That’s going to set the depth chart going into his into summer camp.”

In preparation for his final season, Armstrong has dropped 35 pounds and he’s ready to finish his high school football career strong.

“Everything has flown by since I got here as a freshman,” he said.

Armstrong is the son of Gator offensive coordinator Rob Armstrong. His younger brother, Kase, is a quarterback for Baker. Football is a definitely a family affair.

“Coming from a football family helps me,” Armstrong said. “I can read anything (happening on the field). “Everything comes so fast now.

“The game is just so quick, but I know exactly what’s going on right before it happens,” he added.

Armstrong is a two-way (offense and defense) player, as are many of his teammates. Being a two-way player doesn’t translate into just two positions for him.

“Kurt Armstrong is a great leader for us,” said Baker coach Barry Gardner. “He’s a four-year starter, after this year (the 2023 season). He’s played nine different positions for us since he’s been here.”

Surprisingly nimble and quick for a player his size, Armstrong, who also plays baseball, credits his work as a Gator first baseman and pitcher for helping improve his footwork and flexibility on the football field.

Maybe that’s why he sees his size as an asset rather than a liability when taking on players that might be half his weight.

“I don’t think my size really hurts me,” he said. “I just try to use it to my advantage.”

With the lost weight Armstrong has gained some speed and quickness that will help him as he hopes to play college football.

“It’s made me a lot faster,” he said. “I feel quicker and I have more mobility.”

East Carolina University and the University of Alabama at Birmingham are two of the schools that are showing interest in the Baker big man. Armstrong said there are others school also talking to him.

Gardner believes Armstrong will have a chance to play college football and points out some of the things he will need to work on as he prepares for the next level.

“I think the biggest thing is his pad level (getting lower and gaining leverage on his opponent) has got to get a little better,” Gardner said. “He’s so used to mashing people in high school because he so big and strong. That’s common in high school.

“But when you get (in college) they’re all the same size,” he added. “The guy that wins the pad level wins so the pad levels got to improve some. He’s gotten better since he was in the ninth grade to now, and I’m sure he’ll continue to get better.”

When he does get to college, Armstrong will only play on one side of the ball and he has his preference for offense.

“I like blocking for people,” he said. ”I like moving somebody when they don’t want  to be moved.”

Although Armstrong is primarily an offensive tackle for the Gators, Gardner sees him playing one of the inside offensive line positions in college.

“I think he’s a college center for sure,” Gardner said. “I think he plays center for most anybody.

“He’s played football for a long time and he’s smart,” he added. “He’s played so many positions in high school. When he gets to college and gets to focus on one position, it’s going to make the transition even easier.”

“Having the nine back helped a lot,” Gardner said. “They basically played running back and receiver, except for a couple of them. So, we had no skill players on offense or defense the first couple of days of practice.”

The absence of the more experienced skill players did have a silver lining in that it gave the coaches a chance to work more closely with some of the younger players.

“They were good early,” Gardner said. “Obviously, they’re not used to playing at the speed we play so the bar’s a little bit different there because we’re going to be faster.

“We try to coach them to be more consistent, but that’s always a problem with the young kids,” he added.

Baker will wrap up spring practice on Tuesday, May 16, with the annual Maroon and White Game.

The game, which is more of a glorified scrimmage featuring the Baker varsity, junior varsity and middle school teams, starts at 6 p.m. at Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium. Admission is $5.

Each squad will go against each other and will get about five series of playing time.

“We do very little conditioning in the spring because we have two weeks off after spring practice is over before we start summer workouts,” Gardner said. “So, a lot of what we want to see is not more of the technical stuff.

“We just to want to see who will be getting after it every play,” he added. “There’s no reason not to go hard every play and that’s what we’re looking for.”

The idea was to give the Bulldogs an opportunity to do the things expected of them at a football camp.

Crestview head coach Thomas Grant sent invitations to more than 60 college coaches. Although only one coach made it by for the combine, Grant wasn’t disappointed. He knows coaches travel to certain territories on different days and they could show up at a practice any time during the spring evaluation period.

Several schools that didn’t make the workouts were interested in the results.

“I have spreadsheets listing every college in the country that offer scholarships,” he said. “I’m going to send the results to all of them. I’ve already had several ask for them.

“It’s been awesome. We’ve had good times out here,” Grant added. “We’ve run much better times than what I thought we would.”

The one college that did make it to the combine was Tennessee at Chattanooga offensive line coach Kevin Revis.

College coaches can’t say who they are recruiting, but they can talk about the attributes they look for in a player and Revis shared the traits he looks for.

“What this does for us is gives us a chance to see their movement and that type of thing,” Revis said. “You get to see in person how they move. To see in person helps with the evaluation.

“You get to see a kid’s true size and how they are built and if he can put on weight,” he added.

Having played college football himself, Revis knows that high school coaches often add an inch or two on a player’s height or perhaps put a weight in the upper end or lower end of what they think a college coach might desire.

Not only does Revis look for the measurables, he also looks for intangibles that will never show up on a highlight video of a player.

“The big things we look for is we get to see them interact with teammates,” he said. “You don’t get to necessarily see their leadership and abilities on film. You can see how they interact with the other kids.

“You see how they respond to coaching and their attitude,” Revis added. “There’s a lot of things that go into it outside the film (evaluation). A lot of it’s about who they are when you see them in person.”

College coaches don’t just look at rising seniors and think about the upcoming recruiting class. A freshman or sophomore has a chance to make a good first impression that could pay off big in the future.

“Right now we’ve got 120 players out for spring football,” Grant said. “Fifty-five are going to be freshmen or sophomores so that’s almost 50%.

“We are young, but they are very coachable. It’s been good so far,” he added.