Sports Archive

The last road match before playing at home for the first time in 2022 turned out to be a memorable one for the Crestview volleyball team.

The road warrior Bulldogs were at Fort Walton Beach and down two sets to none. But the Bulldogs came roaring back, taking the final three sets for the 3-2 win. Set scores were 25-27, 22-25, 25-7, 25-23, 15-11.

It’s still early in the season, but Crestview cross-country coach Alex Pottinger likes what he is seeing from the team.

The boys team won a meet at Baker last week and the girls took second.

It was another big night for Baker senior running back Kayleb Wagner and another win for the Gators as they upended Bozeman 21-20. Wagner had 24 carries for 221 yards and two touchdowns. Wyatt Straight had 46 yards on nine carries.

The Crestview High School football team learned a truth that fans of the classic Rock and Roll band, Three Dog Night have known for years, “One is the loneliest number.”

One is the number of points that decided the battle between the Bulldogs and host Choctaw at Joe Etheredge Stadium.

Jolee Sloan has attended Baker School since she was in elementary school. Now a senior, Sloan is a standout on the Lady Gators softball and volleyball teams.

In street clothes, Marion Hawthorne could pass as just another Crestview High School student. At 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, he looks more tall and lanky than athletic.

Baker’s football universe was restored last Friday in a 34-0 win over the upstart Destin program. Things should be a little more challenging this week as the Gators host Bozeman High School out of Panama City. Both teams enter the game with 1-1 records. The Bucks lost their opener to Geneva, Ala., 46-21 before bouncing back with a 14-7 win over Liberty County last week. The Gators suffered the rare shutout in losing to South Walton 38-0 in the opener before beating Destin 34-0 before the home fans at Doug Griffith Memorial Stadium last week.

After seeing their fourth-quarter comeback fall just short, the Crestview football team hopes to rebound against a hard-luck Choctawhatchee Indian team on Friday. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Joe Etheredge Stadium on the Choctaw campus in Fort Walton Beach. The Indians (0-2) are definitely better than their record indicates. The two losses, to Pace and Fairhope, Ala., come by a combined total of five points. Choctaw lost to Pace 31-30 and to Fairhope 43-39.

A sense of normalcy was regained in Baker on Friday as the Gators hosted Destin in the first football game in the history of the Sharks. Kayleb Wagner was up to his old tricks rushing for 275 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries as the Gators rolled to a 34-0 win.

Any member of the Crestview High School football team that wasn’t familiar with Murphy’s Law, which states, “Anything that can go wrong will, and at the worst possible time,” should be now as they lived it on Friday as they traveled to Gulf Breeze to take on the Dolphins.