CRESTVIEW — Twelve minutes into the football season, Crestview High School received its first major challenge as starting quarterback Rusty Moorer left the game with an injury to his right hand, his throwing hand.

The Bulldogs were leading Northview 12-8 when Moorer went down. Crestview Coach Tim Hatten had a couple of backup quarterbacks and backup plans.

Sophomore Keenan Redd first entered the game as Moorer’s replacement. While Redd wasn’t that bad, he failed to provide the spark and stability the Bulldogs needed.

Enter senior Corey Armstrong, who, as a sophomore, led the Bulldogs to an upset win over Niceville. Armstrong started last season as the Bulldog quarterback before moving to middle linebacker. Friday, he showed a senior leader's poise as he helped guide Crestview’s offense to 35 more points en route to a 47-20 win.

Armstrong wasn’t flawless, but he scored three touchdowns on runs of three yards, seven yards and one yard. He finished the game with a team-high 74-yards rushing on eight carries. He also was 4-of-7 passing for 69 yards.

“We knew he (Armstrong) could play quarterback for us,” Hatten said. “But he’s a good linebacker, too. And then Rusty is a good player.

“He gave us a little different shot with the dynamics of our team, but right now, sometimes you have to change the dynamics. It’s unfortunate for Rusty and we are going to see (the extent of the injury). But I thought Corey did a heck of a job.”

Armstrong shrugged off his heroics: “I’m confident,” he said. “I’ve run the plays before, but it’s been a year a year and a half.

“It took a while before we started to get into the flow of the game. This will give us confidence, but we have to play better as a team and make some improvements.”

CRESTVIEW 47, NORTHVIEW 20

Northview                    8          6          6          0—20

Crestview                     12        14        14        7—47

Scoring summary

First quarter

C – BA Larkins 22 yards blocked punt (kick failed); 10:13

C – Antryon Gloster 6 run (2-point conversion failed); 6:07

N – Luke Ward 23 run (Hunter Edwards 2-point); 1:01

Second quarter

C –Taron Akins 3 run (Seth Kootsouradis kick); 11:02

C – Corey Armstrong 3 run (Kootsouradis kick); 2:22

N – Ward 80 run (2-point failed); 2:07

Third quarter

C – Armstrong 7 run (Kootsouradis kick); 9:45

N – Ward 47 pass from Gavin Grant (2-point failed); 4:08

C – Armstrong 1 run (Kootsouradis kick); 0:28

Fourth quarter

C – Marcus Mobley 7 run (Kootsouradis kick) 6:08                                       

                                    Northview       Crestview

First downs                  16                    16

Rushes-yards               43-253             39-249

Passing yards                60                    93

Comp-Att-Int               2-6-1                8-16-1

Fumbles-lost                1-1                   0-0                  

Penalty-yards               3-27                 3-21

Individual Stats

Rushing

Northview: Ward 13-173, Holland 1-3, Harrison 11-38, Aliff 10-30, Grant 7-11, Robinson 4-1.

Crestview: Antryon Gloster7-33, LaJonte Watson 6-23, Corey Armstrong 8-74, Malik Studevan 5-22, Rusty Moorer 1-13, Taron Akins 1-3, Luis Berrios 4-23, Marcus Mobley 4-36, Keenan Redd 3-22.

Passing

Northview: Grant 2-5-1 60, Ward 0-0-0.

Crestview: Rusty Moorer 4-7-0 24, Keenan Redd 0-2-1, Corey Armstrong 4-7-0 69.

Receiving

Northview: Harrison 1-13, Ward 1-47

Crestview: Matt French 1-13, Marquis McClain 1-19, Capri Jones 1-2. Antryon Gloster 1-8, Alik Whited 2-32, Keenan Redd 2-19.

Crestview football box

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's Armstrong does 'a heck of a job' in Moorer's place

Baker School quarterback Jon Beck had 312 yards in total offense as the Gators opened the 2015 football season with a 26-14 win at Holmes County.

Beck ran for 198 yards on 18 carries and was 5-of-11 passing for 114 yards.

Beck scored a touchdown on a 15-yard run. He also had a 55-yard touchdown pass to Kalee Cuirleo. Jalen Cuirleo scored a touchdown on a 6-yard run.

Montae Barto scored Baker’s other touchdown on a 6-yard run.

Barto had four rushes for 30 yards. Jalen Cuirleo carried the ball 10 times for 31 yards and Chris Roller had eight carries for 32 yards.

Baker (1-0) hosts Blountstown on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker gets past Holmes County

CRESTVIEW — Corey Armstrong scored three touchdowns and racked up 153 yards in total offense to lead Crestview High School’s football team to a 47-20 win over Northview on Friday.

Armstrong, Crestview’s starting middle linebacker and backup quarterback was called into action when starting quarterback Rusty Moorer left the game at the end of the first quarter  with an injury to his throwing hand.

Keenan Redd got the first call at quarterback when Moorer went down, but only had modest success moving the ball against a rugged Chief defense.

Enter Armstrong, who, as a sophomore, led the Bulldogs to an upset win at Niceville in 2013.

Armstrong took his first snaps on offense at fullback before moving to the quarterback spot in Crestview’s spread offense. Armstrong led the Bulldogs (1-0) in rushing gaining 74 yards on eight carries and was 4-of-7 through the air for 69 yards.

The Bulldogs finished the night with 342 yards in total offense. Crestview runners carried the ball 39 times for 249 yards. Bulldog quarterbacks combined to throw for 93 yards.

“We knew (Armstrong) could play quarterback for us,” Bulldog coach Tim Hatten said. “But he’s a good linebacker too. And then Rusty is a good player.

“He gave us a little different shot with the dynamics of our team, but right now, sometimes you have to change the dynamics. It’s unfortunate for Rusty and we are going to see (the extent of the injury). But I thought Corey did a heck of a job.”

That’s not to say Armstrong was a one-man show.

The Bulldogs were up 19-8 by the time his number was called.

Crestview took the lead at the end of Northview’s first possession when Marcus Flavors blocked a Chief punt and B.A. Larkins scooped the ball up and scored from 23 yards out.

The Bulldog offense scored on its first possession of the game going 36 yards on seven plays. Antryon Gloster finished the drive with a 6-yard run.

Moorer was sharp throwing the ball on the drive completing 4-of-5 passes.

Luke Ward put the Chiefs on the board with a 23-yard touchdown run. Ward later added an 80-yard scoring run and scored on a 47-yard pass from Gavin Grant.

For every Ward touchdown the Bulldogs had an answer or two of their own.

Taron Akins capped a 30-yard Bulldog drive with a touchdown run of three yards. The drive started deep in Northview territory after a Chief onside kick went backwards.

Armstrong scored the next three Bulldog touchdowns. The first Armstrong score came three plays after Michael Robinson recovered a Chief fumble at Northview’s 12-yard line.

Marcus Mobley finished off the scoring for Crestview with a 7-yard run. Mobley’s touchdown capped an 85-yard drive that started with his brother, Capri Jones, intercepted a Northview pass.

Seth Kootsouradis kicked five extra points for Crestview.

Gloster finished the game with 33 yards rushing on seven carries. Mobley was good for 36 yards on four carries. Alik Whited had two catches for 32 yards.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Armstrong leads Crestview past Northview

JAY— Friday night’s football game between Baker and Jay was only a Kickoff Classic. And the game really didn’t mean anything. But don’t tell that to Gator middle linebacker Montae Barto.

Baker led 13-6 with less than a minute left in the game with the Royals knocking on the door facing a third-and-1 at the Baker 3-yard line. A few players earlier it looked as if the Gators had the game in hand, But that was Jay returned a Baker fumble to the Gator 25.

The Royals moved the ball to the Baker 12 for a first down. After netting nine yards on two plays Jay needed just one yard for the first down and three yards for the touchdown.

Jay tailback Braden Cross, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior had been the Royals’ go-to back all night. It seemed only logical that Jay would give the ball to their money guy in the crucial situation.

As expected Cross got the ball. Fortunately for the Gators the 220-pound Barto was one of those expecting Cross to get the ball. Barto charged across the line unblocked on a run blitz and delivered a vicious tackle that Cross isn’t likely to forget any time soon.

Barto’s hit rang out across the stadium as he dropped Cross for a four-yard loss. On fourth down Jay threw an incomplete pass and the Gators celebrated the preseason win.

Barto credited the big play to preparation.

“I watch a lot of film and every time they need a big play they go to him (Cross),” he said. “I depended on my instincts really. I knew it was coming and I read the play.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Barto's hit a classic

Breaking down the word expert, you get ex — or has been — and spurt — a bit of nothing.

Often, I feel as if I embody that definition when making annual football picks. Only a crazy man, or a sports writer, would be foolish enough to pick the winners of high school football games.

The 2015 season is at hand, and inquiring minds want to know if the fortunes of Crestview High School’s football team will take a positive turn this fall, and if Baker's Gators will continue their winning ways.

So let the madness begin.

 Aug. 28

Northview at Crestview: The Class 1A Chiefs have made five consecutive trips to the playoffs, while the Class 6A Bulldogs haven’t tasted the post-season since 2010. Northview usually is one of Florida's more talented small schools. However, in this battle of David and Goliath, I see the giant winning as the Bulldogs open the season with a win.

Baker at Holmes County: The Gators saw their 19-game regular-season winning streak end last season in week 11; they lost to South Walton. Holmes County isn’t South Walton, and Baker has too many weapons for the Blue Devils to stop the Gator attack. Baker Coach Matt Brunson likes to play things close to the vest early in the season, so don’t expect to see Baker run up the score. But the Gators should win easily.

Sept. 4

Mosley at Crestview: The Bulldogs get someone closer to their own size in the second week of the season as they host the Class 5A Dolphins. The question is, do they get someone closer to their own talent level? Mosley should offer a bit more of a challenge for the Bulldogs, but I doubt if the Dolphins slow what should be a high-powered Crestview offense. Bulldogs move to 2-0 with the win.

Blountstown at Baker: The Tigers come calling. Baker’s home opener and Blountstown will present plenty of problems for the Gators. MaxPreps ranks the Tigers number 12 in Class 1A and Baker number 17. Blountstown is athletic, but only has 30 players listed on the roster. If this game was played in late October I might lean toward the Tigers, but it’s not. The first Friday in September the heat at Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium will give Baker the advantage in a close game.

Sept. 11

St. Martins, Miss. at Crestview: St. Martins is a small school out of Ocean Springs, Miss., but the private school usually produces some of the Magnolia State's better football teams. If MaxPreps is to be believed, the Yellow Jackets are the 1549th best team in the country and the Bulldogs are the 1,559th best team, which on a neutral field would give St. Martins a slight advantage. There will be nothing neutral about Jack Foster Stadium as Crestview keeps rolling with a win.

 West Gadsden at Baker: This game could get ugly fast. The Panthers lack Baker’s talent and depth. Gator quarterback Jon Beck should have a big first half before enjoying watching the backups play in the second half. Baker wins big.

 Sept. 18

Broward International at Crestview: This might be the biggest mismatch favoring the Bulldogs in the last decade. If the running clock could start before the third quarter, it would in this game. The only reason Coach Tim Hatten has for keeping the Bulldog starters in the game past the second quarter is to pad their stats. The Bulldogs match last year’s four wins in their fourth game of the season.

Walton at Baker: Walton running back Azende' Rey is the real deal, and will probably be the most explosive player that Baker sees this season. Walton should could contend for the Class 4A title and is the favorite to win the District 1-4A title. The Gators suffer a rare regular-season loss to the Braves, falling to 3-1.

 Sept 25

Pace at Crestview: The District 2-6A Patriots visit Jack Foster Stadium the week before Crestview opens District 3-6A play hosting Choctawhatchee. Pace should test the Bulldogs with a big offensive line and powerful running game that has become the Patriot trademark under veteran Coach Mickey Lindsey. Pace will try to keep the ball out of the hands of Crestview’s play makers, but to no avail as the Bulldogs notch win five on the season

Baker at Rocky Bayou Christian: The Gators will try to rebound from a tough loss to Walton against an always explosive Knight team. Rocky Bayou can put up a lot of points against most teams and could give Baker a scare, but even so, I think the Gators rebound with a win.

Oct. 2

Choctawhatchee at Crestview: A 5-0 Crestview record won’t matter as the Bulldogs take on the Indians in the District 3-6A opener. Choctaw is ranked much higher than Crestview, but each of the last two years' turnovers have led to Bulldog losses to the Indians. Some people would call it an upset if Crestview beats Choctaw. I’m not one of those people. I’m taking Crestview at home.

 Jay at Baker: When the Gators and Royals met in the Kickoff Classic in August, nothing was on the line. That all changes in this game, as the winner is almost assured of a spot in the playoffs in the three-team District 1-1A. If things go according to script, Baker will roll big, setting up an Oct. 30  showdown with Northview to decide the district champion. I don’t believe Jay has the manpower to rewrite the script. Baker wins big.

Oct. 9

Crestview at Milton: Crestview leaves Jack Foster Stadium's friendly confines for the first time in the 2015 season to take on the Panthers. Milton has a deep history of championship football teams, but has fallen on hard times the last few years. The Panthers should improve this year, but they still won’t have the talent to stay with the Bulldogs as Crestview wins and improves to 7-0.

South Walton at Baker: The last time the teams met in the regular season, the Seahawks ended Baker’s 20-game regular-season winning streak. South Walton lost several key players off last year’s team that beat Baker, but will still be loaded with talent. How that talent translate into what should be a physical game remains to be seen. The Seahawks represent the beaches of South Walton County. The Gators represent the farmlands of North Okaloosa County. I’m going with the country boys at home as Baker gets a close win.

Oct. 16

Fort Walton Beach at Crestview: If the Bulldogs took care of business against Choctaw, a win over the Vikings would almost assure Crestview of a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. No current Bulldog had made the playoffs in football, but fortunately for Coach Tim Hatten, he has multiple baseball and basketball players that know what it means to win key games. Crestview shines and makes the playoffs with the win.

 Baker at Chipley: Chipley’s Tigers will be favored at  home, and rightfully so. Chipley usually has size, speed and athleticism. The one thing Chipley won’t have is Baker’s depth. The Tigers will be coming off an open date as the Gators play their eighth straight game. I keep going back and forth on this one and come the middle of October I might pick differently, but for now I’m going with Chipley at home as Baker falls to 6-2.

Oct. 30

Crestview at Niceville: Will the District 3-6A title be on the line when the Bulldogs travel to Niceville the night before Halloween? Can Bulldogs find the magic found at Niceville in 2013? How well will Crestview’s talent match up with that of the Eagles? These questions will be answered on the field with the winner claiming the district championship. Niceville wins a close one to take the district championship, but the Bulldogs should be back in the playoffs.

Baker at Northview: Two years ago, the Gators traveled to Bratt and upset the Chiefs for the first of Baker’s two consecutive district championships. Baker will be coming off an open date and will have plenty of time for Coach Matt Brunson to pull out all the stops. The Chiefs will play in their 10th straight game after playing Walton the week before. All the stars seem to be in alignment for the Gators to win and claim their third straight district championship.

Nov. 6

Crestview at Gulf Breeze: There will be mixed emotions for at least one sideline observer, me. Forty years ago, Crestview traveled to Gulf Breeze and beat the Dolphins in the final regular season game. Look for that ancient history to repeat itself as Crestview wins and should be looking ahead to the playoffs as the Bulldogs finish the regular season 9-1.

Baker at Liberty County: The regular-season finale could feature two Class 1A playoff teams. This is a tough game to pick simply because there isn’t a lot of information on Liberty at this time. That said, I’m going with the Gators because I don’t see the Bulldogs having the defenders to stop Baker’s high-powered offense.   

Closing thoughts: Time will tell if Crestview finishes the regular season 9-1 and Baker goes 8-2. The Bulldogs could easily lose between three and five games, but I believe this is the season Tim Hatten turns things around.

I believe Baker could lose two or three more games and still win District 1-1A.

The predictions are in the books, so let the season begin.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Picking 2015's high school football winners

LAUREL HILL — A slow start by Laurel Hill School’s volleyball team against Rocky Bayou Christian wasn’t indicative of the game's end results.

The Knights jumped out to a quick 8-1 lead on their way to winning the first set 25-20. The rest of the match belonged to the Hoboes as they swept the final three sets to take their season opener.

Laurel Hill won the match 3-1 by scores of 20-25, 25-14, 25-19 and 25-15.

Kaylee L’Homme led the Hoboes with six kills. Kylee Seymour added four kills.

Things looked bleak for the Hoboes in the opening moments of the first set as the Knights jumped to the quick lead. With Laurel Hill trailing 8-1, Hobo Coach Kent Zessin called a timeout to calm his team down.

The strategy worked. The Hoboes outscored the Knights 19-17 down the remainder of the set as Rocky Bayou held on to go up 1-0 in the match.

Laurel Hill (1-0) settled into its game the rest of the way, sweeping the final three sets of the match.

“I was worried there for a second,” Zessin said. “I felt like we didn’t have a very good practice yesterday and I was really concerned that we were going to carry that over into the game. The first eight points I was, ‘Yep.’

“When you’ve been coaching this game for 16 years you can kind of predict this stuff. I’m very proud of the girls. They didn’t get their heads down.”

Zessin didn’t hesitate to go to the bench. All nine players on the Hobo roster saw significant playing time and contributed in one way or another.

Rachel Welsh, Bailey Stokes and Lauren Mitchell served the ball well. Micah McVay played solid defense and did a good job of setting Laurel Hill’s big hitters. Libero Olivia Stewart was all over the court playing strong defense.

“They came back around (after the slow start) and got the chemistry going,” Zessin said. “I think tonight our defense was outstanding. We didn’t let a lot of balls hit the ground.

“Defensively we did real well. Serving we did a pretty good job. We just have to do a little better job on our offense when we are making contact with the ball on our hits.”

Zessin credited the Knights for giving the Hoboes a tough battle.

“We played a real scrappy team in Rocky (with) that being their first game,” Zessin said. “I’m sure they will improve. They have a real good coaching staff over there and they will be a better team the next time we play them.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill overcomes slow start to down Rocky Bayou (PHOTOS)