Sports Archive

Football can be a cruel game.


A team can move the ball down the field on offense but one small mishap, such as a penalty or a turnover, can derail an entire drive.

Taylor Swift’s “22” blared over the speakers, a fitting song choice considering the Baker Gators stretched their impressive run of district championships to 22 straight with a three-game sweep of rival Jay.


The players danced around, singing along to the lyrics of the music icon’s hit tune. They held up the trophy proudly and posed for photos, all while smiling from ear to ear and soaking in the feeling of being champions once again.

For the 22nd consecutive year, Baker volleyball captured the rural district 1 championship, defeating Jay by a final of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-15.

With the victory, the Gators grab their ninth win of the season and advance into the regional semifinals next week where their opponent is yet to be determined. 

It’s crunch time for the Crestview football team.

Through seven weeks, the Bulldogs are 3-4 and 1-1 in district play, a record that Coach Thomas Grant knows is a little misleading based on the Bulldogs play.

The Baker volleyball team quickly dispatched Central on Tuesday night, winning by a score of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-5 to advance to Thursday’s rural district 1 championship match.

Baker (8-12) will face Jay (15-6) at 6:30 PM.

Crestview’s volleyball team refused to back down.


Never mind that the Bulldogs’ season was on the line as they trailed two games to one against Navarre in a District 1-6A quarterfinal on the road.

The Baker and Crestview cross country teams ran this morning at the Aggie Invitational in Ashton Brosnaham Park in Pensacola.

Danielle Davis of Baker paced all area runners with a time of 21:14. 27 in the 5K race, while Emery Mcgriff of Crestview was the top boy’s finisher with a mark of 17:08.17.

The Laurel Hill volleyball team saw their season end on Monday night (October 14) by a score of 15-25, 19-25 and 8-25 to Northview in the district playoffs

Laurel Hill ends their season at 7-12 overall, and 0-4 in district competition.  The Hoboes dropped all three games this season to Northview.

In the latest FHSAA Football Rankings released today, both Baker and Crestview made moves as they prepare to make a run towards the playoffs.

Baker (6-2) entered the week in the 15th spot in the rural classification, down two positions from the previous week’s rankings.  The Gators are coming off a close loss to Zion Chapel, 21-20.

Change is coming to the football playoff schedule for the 1A-7A classifications.


Due to the impact Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton have had on schedules this fall in most of the state, the FHSAA has decided the playoffs for those classes will now begin Nov. 15 instead of Nov. 8.