Sports Archive

The most recent regional rankings are out and several area teams are in contention for playoff spots. In 6A, the top eight teams will make the postseason, including the four district champions in the region. In 1A, the top four teams earn spots to the regional.

Contrasting shades of red collided in the Crestview High School gym on Friday night. The home team Crestview in the traditional bright red. And visiting Niceville in the Eagle maroon. As one would expect when the Bulldogs and Eagles meet, it was a battle to the end. And in the end Crestview held the upper hand in a 56-52 win.

Ask any Crestview High School fan and they will tell you the only thing better than beating Niceville once in a season is beating the Eagles twice in the same year. The Lady Bulldog basketball team did just that completing the regular season sweep of the Lady Eagles with a 72-66 win on Thursday at the Crestview gym. Crestview defeated Niceville 62-48 before the Christmas break.

Every team needs a Vince Lancaster. And if a team is fortunate, they have a Vince Lancaster, whatever the sport might be.

Lancaster, a 6-foot-5 senior on the Crestview boys basketball team, is all about the Bulldogs although he doesn’t get many minutes of playing time. Lancaster is a team player, and nobody appreciates that more than Bulldog coach Greg Watson.

The saying that dynamite comes in small package is a fitting description of Crestview Lady Bulldog point guard Katiya Casey.

Casey might be the smallest player on the team. If not, she’s definitely one of the two or three smaller Lady Bulldogs. That said, she still packs a big punch on both ends of the court.

Crestview standout weightlifter Madi Muse hasn’t missed a beat since last season. The 2022 state qualifier turned in a strong performance at the Navarre Invitational Friday night, winning her weight class in the Olympic competition and taking fourth in traditional.

A big second quarter by Crestview’s Lady Bulldogs broke open Thursday’s girls basketball game with Washington. Crestview led 16-12 after the first quarter but after that the game wasn’t really close.

The Lady Bulldogs outscored Washington 19-11 in the second quarter on the way to a 66-55 win. The game really wasn’t in doubt after the first half.

It’s unclear what, if anything, Baker boys basketball coach Brent Zessin said to the Gators at halftime on Tuesday’s game with rival Laurel Hill. Whatever it was or wasn’t worked and then some.

There’s no polite way to describe Monday’s girls basketball game between Laurel Hill and Baker. It was ugly. It was ugly to the tune of more than 40 fouls being whistled. It was ugly to the tune of the teams hitting a combined 26-of-54 from the free throw line. It was ugly to the point that a 32-minute game on the clock, with a 10-minute half took 87 minutes to complete.

Sometimes you just burn the game film and move on. That’s more or less what Baker boys basketball coach Brent Zessin did after Friday’s game with Pensacola Christian Academy. The Warriors wore out the nets with 14 3-point baskets good for 42 points on their way to beating the Gators 68-47.