ECFR And Jay Fire Department Conduct Specialized Grain Bin Rescue Training
August 29, 2026
Escambia County Fire Rescue joined the Jay Fire Department this week for a Grain Bin Rescue Class, a specialized training that tested crewmembers’ skills in unique situations.
The training session included a classroom component followed by a hands-on session with prop and active grain silos, in addition to simulating rescues for a victim trapped in a grain silo.
North Escambia and surrounding areas have numerous grain silos, ranging from a commercial facility in Walnut Hill to area farms.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pierce Leads Tate Past Former Milton Team In 24-21 Win
August 29, 2026
Senior quarterback Cade Pierce returned to his old stomping grounds Friday night to lead the Tate Aggies to a gritty 24-21 road victory over his former team, the Milton Panthers.
Riding high after a dominant 40-13 home win over Marianna last week, the Aggies quickly went to work against a Milton squad hungry to rebound from a Week 1 shutout against Pensacola Catholic.
Pierce set the tone early in the opening quarter, finding Efidarius Bryant for a touchdown strike to give Tate a 7-0 edge. Running back Ethan Pittman carried the heavy load from there, punishing the Milton defense with a touchdown run in the second quarter to help secure a 17-14 Tate advantage at the break.
Pittman struck again in the third quarter, taking a handoff from Pierce and punching it across the goal line to extend the lead to 24-14. The workhorse back anchored the Aggie offense all night, piling up 171 yards and two scores on 27 carries. Milton rallied in the fourth to pull within three, but Tate’s defense stood tall in the closing minutes to seal the win.
Now 2-0 on the season, Tate returns to Pete Gindl Stadium next Friday at 7 p.m. to host the Escambia Gators (0-1), who are looking to regroup after an 8-0 loss to Pine Forest.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Chiefs Roll Past McIntosh 42-13, Shift Focus To Graceville Road Trip
August 29, 2026
The Northview Chiefs remained undefeated on the young season Friday night, rolling past the McIntosh Demons 42-13 just across the Washington County, Alabama line north of Mobile.
With the dominant road victory pushing Northview to 2-0, the Chiefs now face another lengthy trek next week—a roughly 140-mile journey east to take on the Graceville Tigers.
The Tigers (0-2) are looking to turn their fortunes around after dropping their first two contests against Central and Cottondale by a combined 99-26.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Football Scoreboard
August 29, 2026
Here are Friday night football scores from across the North Escambia area.
FLORIDA
Thursday
- Niceville 41, West Florida 14
Friday
- Northview 42, McIntosh 13
- Tate 24, Milton 21 [Recap story...]
- Jay 56, Elberta 8
- Pine Forest 8, Escambia 0
- Pensacola High 32, Gulf Breeze 10
- Catholic 51, Pace 33
- Washington 45, Navarre 27
ALABAMA
- T.R. Miller 14, Straughn 7
- Escambia County (Atmore) 50, Tarrant 6
- Evangel Christian 50, Escambia Academy 21
- Flomaton (open)
- W.S. Neal (open)
Recap: UWF Football With Stunning Win Over No.16 Southern Illinois In Division I Debut
August 29, 2026
Given an opportunity for a second historical debut, the UWF football team produced another stunning achievement.
The Argos, a 20-point underdog in their first Division I game Thursday night against Southern Illinois – ranked No. 16 in one FCS preseason poll – powered into an 18-point lead midway through the third quarter, then made dramatic game-sealing plays in the final minutes for a 34-31 victory, thrilling a record crowd of 6,124 at Pen Air Field.
The Argos have proven adept at creating attention across the college football world.
“It’s always good to be on the right side of history,” said redshirt senior defensive lineman Byron Puryear in a fitting assessment of what happened. “That’s the moment right there, the right side of history. We played good. We did what we had to do.”
Playing with a remade roster of 73 new players, the Argos were ready for the moment.
“I think a lot of people outside the team were counting us out,” said UWF head coach Kaleb Nobles. “And I’ve got to tell you, our locker room does not think like that…Our job is to come in play good football and our guys did that. Was it perfect? Absolutely not. Am I stressed out, yes.”
“(Thursday) is kind of what UWF football is about,” said Nobles, who ushered the arrival of UWF football in 2016 when he was the starting quarterback for the Argos’ inaugural season. “We had success on the Division II level. Now you make the jump to Division I. I know a lot of people outside were just wanting us to play our best and have fun… and that’s not we’re about .. We’re here to win. We’re here to compete every play. And that’s what UWF football has been about for 10 years.”
Puryear was part of a swarming, gang-tackling, well-focused UWF defense that often won the line-of-scrimmage battles and forced out Southern Illinois star quarterback DJ Williams in a second-quarter injury. Williams, a senior and FCS All-American, spent the second half watching in shorts from the sideline.
His backup, Jake Curry, tossed a pair of interceptions, one of which A’khoury Lyde returned 44 yards for a second-quarter touchdown that gave UWF a 20-6 lead at halftime.
“We prepared a lot for DJ Williams,” Nobles said. “I talked more about him than I talked about our kids. He’s a great player and I hope he is not hurt too bad. Anytime you get a back-up quarterback, you put another good plan together and we knew they would. I’m not sure that guy is as athletic as DJ but he’s a good passer, but our guys did what they had to do to hold him back and get the win.”
The Argos further gained control on Markel Townsend’s nine yard TD run with 7:27 left in the third quarter, which built a 27-9 lead.
But Curry rallied the Salukis. Taking advantage of two UWF fumbles, Curry ran for a score, then threw a touchdown pass with 7:39 left and suddenly UWF’s lead was 27-24.
The Argos defense, however, changed the momentum by recovering a fumble at the Salukis’ 42, after UWF’s ensuing possession went nowhere.
With 6:22 left, UWF’s new starting quarterback Ty’ray Davis, a sophomore from Orlando, led a defining drive.
After losing yardage on a first down play from the Southern Illinois 18, the Argos called a wide receiver screen to Luc Carroll, a freshman from Miami’s Gulliver Prep High, who turned the play into a 22-yard touchdown with 2:37 left.
“It was big time play call by coach (offensive coordinator) Donny Baker,” Nobles said. “It is something we have repped from day one. Just a normal tunnel screen that we blocked up well and we had two freshman receivers out there….That was Luc’s first college pass… and to win the game. A great time to call it. I think (Salukis) were blitzing into it and worked out perfect.”
Southern Illinois, however, was not done. Curry completed a nine-play, 73-yard drive with 9-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 left.
The Salukis had all three timeouts remaining. The ensuing onside kick was smothered by UWF’s Kenyan Hunter at the Southern Illinois 46. UWF forced the Salukis to use all three time outs, then punted to the 20 yard-line.
With 18-seconds left at his own 36, Curry threw another interception, this one snagged by David Law-Mortinez to end the game and began the Argos celebration.
UWF amassed 335 offensive yards in the game. An important element was UWF committed just five penalties for 48 yards.
Davis rushed for 88 yards and passed for 109 yards and two scores.
The Argos defense was led by sophomore linebacker Cameron Anderson of Jacksonville, who had 11 solo tackles and sophomore Carson Ratliff from Mobile’s Faith Academy who had nine stops.
Ratliff was a pallbearer in former UWF teammate Ben Conken’s funeral on Aug. 22. Conken died after a battle with cancer.
A moment of silence was held for Conken and UWF top donor Darrell Gooden, who died in July.
“Carson was a pallbearer for his best friend’s funeral and then he comes out (Thursday) and plays his tail off,” said Nobles, his voice cracking with emotion. That is not easy for a 19-20 year-old kid to do.”
UWF has now won their season opening game for six straight seasons. The first FCS win will be a memory for many for years to come.
by Bill Villona, Argos Correspondent
WHAT’S NEXT? – The Argos travel to Conway, Arkansas to face Central Arkansas on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. This will be the Argos first conference game in the United Athletic Conference. The Central Arkansas Bears were formally members the Southland Conference from 2007 until joining what is now the UAC.
Central Arkansas competed in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, an NAIA level conference until 1993, then became members of the Gulf South Conference – the Argos former home – as NCAA Division II members until 2007 when joining the FCS Southland Conference.
written by Bill Villona, Argos Correspondent
Photo Morgan Givens/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
DeSantis ReAppoints Nick Patronis, The Congressman’s Brother, To Northwest Florida Water Board
August 29, 2026
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced the reappointment of Nick Patronis to the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board.
Patronis is the brother of U.S. Rep. Jimmy Patronis, who served as Florida’s CFO before his election to represent Florida’s 1st Congressional District.
This marks Nick Patronis’ fifth appointment to the nine-member governing board. First appointed in July 2011 by then-Gov. Rick Scott, he was subsequently reappointed in 2015, 2020, and 2022. He currently serves as board secretary and holds an at-large seat representing Panama City.
Patronis attended Gulf Coast State College and serves as vice president of Captain Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City. He has also served as a member of both the National Restaurant Association and the Florida Restaurant Association.
The reappointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate. Although his term technically concluded on March 1, state law permits board members to continue serving in a holdover capacity. The Florida Legislature is scheduled to convene for its next regular session on March 2, 2027.
Governing board members serve in an unpaid, volunteer capacity.
The Northwest Florida Water Management District is one of five regional districts established by the Florida Water Resources Act of 1972. The district manages water resources, operates regional flood-control systems, issues environmental and water-use permits, acquires conservation land, and works to protect water supplies across 16 counties: Escambia, Santa Rosa, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Wakulla, Walton, Washington, and western Jefferson County.
Matheus’ Multiple RBIs Leads Wahoos to 5-3 Win
August 29, 2026
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos saw their magic number shrink again on Friday night, with a come from behind 5-3 win over the Montgomery Biscuits.
The game went scoreless for the first inning and a half before Montgomery broke the seal. Three singles off of Orlando Ortiz-Mayr put the Biscuits up 1-0. In the top of the third, Pensacola evened the score with an RBI single from Juan Matheus to make it 1-1.
The tie didn’t last long as Theo Gillen ripped a two-out RBI-double into left field in the bottom of the third, bringing the lead back to Montgomery. An inning later, a leadoff triple from Connor Hujsak came around to score on a Kamren James groundout, giving the Biscuits a 3-1 lead. With Ortiz-Mayr done after 4.0 innings, it was up to the Pensacola bullpen to keep Montgomery off the board.
In the meantime, the Wahoos offense began mounting a comeback. It started in the top of the 5th when a perfectly executed double steal brought the ‘Hoos to within a run. With Aiva Arquette on first and Adrian Santana on third, Arquette broke for second. As the throw came down, he stopped, because right when the ball was released, Santana took off for home. With a crafty feet-first slide, Santana was safe and the score was 3-2. The steal of home was just the 11th in Wahoos franchise history.
Then in the 6th, following Cristian Hernández’ 27th double and 30th steal of the year, Ethan O’Donnell tied the game up with a single into left. The top of the 7th also brought fortune as Adrian Santana reached on a dropped third strike to begin the frame. Two batters later, Juan Matheus unleashed a double into the gap to give the Blue Wahoos their first lead of the game.
And finally in the 8th, with men on the corners and nobody out, Connor Caskenette bounced into a 5-4-3 double play, bringing the score to 5-3 in favor of Pensacola. They scored four unanswered in four consecutive innings. As this was going on, Jaydenn Estanista (W, 2-0) and Luis Palacios (S, 4), locked down the final 5.0 innings allowing no runs on just a hit, a walk, and four Ks. Palacios earning saves on back to back days was the first occurrence since Jeffery Yan in 2023.
Luis Guerrero (L, 0-1) was tagged with the loss for Montgomery, as they fell to 63-61 overall and 28-27 in the second half. The Blue Wahoos improved to a season high 21 games over .500 with a 72-51 overall record and a 36-18 record in half two. They also tied a season and franchise best in stolen bases with 7 as a team. The win coupled with a Columbus Clingstones loss dropped their magic number down to 7 games with 14 to play.
The Blue Wahoos continue their series with Montgomery on Saturday night.
written by Charlie Hobert
Jury Convicts Cantonment Contractor Jesse Wayne LaCoste Of Racketeering, Fraud
August 28, 2026
For a sentencing update, click here.
A six-person jury deliberated for less than one hour Thursday before convicting embattled contractor Jesse Wayne LaCoste of Cantonment on charges of racketeering and organized fraud over $50,000.
Jurors found LaCoste guilty under Florida’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as well as organized fraud, for using his company, LaCoste Construction Group, to defraud dozens of area homeowners out of $2 million between 2018 and 2022.
Chief Judge John Simon is scheduled to sentence LaCoste on Monday.
Both counts are first-degree felonies, each carrying a maximum penalty of 30 years in state prison. Depending on Simon’s ruling at sentencing, LaCoste could face up to 60 additional years behind bars.
LaCoste is already serving a 10-year state prison sentence following a 2025 conviction for grand theft and contractor fraud.
Court records indicate LaCoste still faces additional trials across Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties on accusations of taking payments from clients and failing to complete the work.
Jay Man Sentenced To 40 Years In Prison On Multiple Child Sex Abuse Charges
August 28, 2026
A Jay man was sentenced to 40 years in state prison this week on multiple felony child sexual abuse charges.
Judge Clifton Drake sentenced Kyle Wesley Allen Stover to 40 years in state prison followed by lifetime sex offender probation for lewd or lascivious molestation (victim less than 12 years of age, defendant 18 years of age or older).
Judge Drake also sentenced Stover to 30 years in state prison each for two counts of attempted sexual battery, 30 years for attempted lewd or lascivious molestation, 16.9 years for lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of a victim less than 16, and 16.9 years for battery of a child by throwing, tossing, projecting, or expelling certain fluids or materials. In addition to the prison term, Judge Drake designated Stover as a sexual predator.
The offenses took place between December 10, 2023, and September 12, 2024, at a residence in Jay. The victim was 8 years old at the time the offenses occurred.
The case was investigated by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Historic Upset: UWF Beats No. 16 Southern Illinois In Division I Debut
August 28, 2026
The University of West Florida won its first Division I football game on Thursday night at home.
UWF beat No. 16 Southern Illinois University 34-31.
UWF will be on the road next week against Central Arkansas on September 5.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
