UWF Holds Spring Game
April 23, 2017
For the second-consecutive year, the UWF football team gave the sizeable crowd on campus at Pen Air Field nearly 400 yards of offense and numerous big plays on both sides of the ball in the annual Spring Game.
Playing offense against defense throughout due to limited depth at various positions, the offense managed 398 yards of total offense in approximately 90 plays, including 347 through the air. The Argonauts also had eight plays of 10 yards or more.
Redshirt sophomores Grey Jackson and Mike Beaudry saw the majority of time at quarterback with each amassing at least 90 yards of offense. Jackson was 10-for-15 for 82 yards and rushed for eight more including a 5-yard touchdown score. Beaudry was 11-for-17 for 106 yards and one scoring strike.
Sophomore Kevin Grant had five receptions for 53 yards and a 32-yard touchdown catch. Sophomore Caleb Robinson hauled in three balls for 61 yards, while classmates Ka’Ron Ashley and J.J. Lewis each collected more than 20 yards receiving.
The defense collected seven 3-and-out performances and registered a pair of turnovers. Junior Anthony Ryals forced a fumble on the game’s second play and sophomore Jerel Ricketts had a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. Junior John Williamson had one-and-a-half sacks and was one of five players with three tackles each.
After the game, UWF strength & conditioning coach Kent Morgan recognized a number of Argos for their improvement in the weight room over the spring workout period. He also presented the Iron Argo Award for exceptional improvement to sophomores Chris Schwarz, Martes Wheeler and Stephen Mathews (pictured bottom).
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Pitcher Throws First Southern League Perfect Game Since 1970
April 23, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos starter Tyler Mahle flirted with perfect games in his first two starts. On Saturday against the Mobile BayBears lineup he pitched a perfect nine innings — the first time that has happened in the Southern League since 1970.
Behind Mahle’s perfect game the Blue Wahoos won, 1-0, over Mobile at Hank Aaron Stadium and its eighth game in a row. Pensacola is off to its best start in franchise history and has the best record in the Southern League at 13-3.
Mahle said he was able to mow down the Mobile batters by relying on mixing the speeds and location of his fastball and said his “off-speed stuff was OK.”
“There’s no way to really do it,” the 22-year-old Mahle said. “You got to go out there and it just happens by chance. I feel good. You know it doesn’t happen often. It’s unreal.”
The Blue Wahoos opening day starter, who struck out eight in Saturday’s game, improved to 4-0 with a 0.67 ERA. He is the first Southern League pitcher to reach four wins this season and his ERA is third in the Southern League behind two pitchers with 0.00 earned-run averages.
In his first two starts, Mahle threw 4.1 perfect innings against Tennessee and 5.0 perfect innings against Biloxi. Baseball America ranked him the Cincinnati Reds 12th best prospect to start the 2017 season.
He did throw a no-hitter last season in a game June 13 against Jupiter Hammerheads in High-A with the Daytona Tortugas.
The Reds’ moved him up in June to its Double-A affiliate in Pensacola and he participated in his first Major League spring training camp this year.
Mahle was named the Reds’ Sheldon Chief Bender Award as the club’s Minor League Player of the Year in 2015 when he was with Low-A Dayton Dragons and posted a 13-8 record and 2.43 ERA.
He was 14-6 last year with Daytona and Pensacola but said he felt his performance for the Blue Wahoos was the “worst” in his professional career. He was 1-2 with a 6.90 ERA in his last eight starts and lasted 3.2 innings or less three times.
Mahle thanked his defense for their stingy defense behind him throughout the game. Blue Wahoos shortstop Blake Trahan has made only two errors in 16 games this season. In addition, Gabriel Guerrero caught some fly balls on the run in left field.
“They were in the perfect spots and they ran some balls down,” said the humble Mahle. “They made some amazing plays.”
All Mahle needed was a single to left field by catcher Joe Hudson in the second inning that drove in right fielder Aristides Aquino to put the Blue Wahoos up 1-0. Aquino ripped a double to center field to start the second inning.
They were the only two hits that Mobile starter Tyler Carpenter gave up to Pensacola in his eight inning start
Mahle’s perfect game gave the Blue Wahoos pitching staff a ridiculous team ERA of 2.17, which leads the league. It was also the team’s fourth shutout in its 16 games played this season, the most in the league.
Gulf Power Named Among Nation’s Top Ten Utilities
April 23, 2017
Gulf Power has been ranked among the top ten investor-owned utilities in the nation according to a new ranking which compares capital investment to the benefits customer receive in reliability and overall satisfaction.
Gulf Power garnered the eighth spot from a pool of 100 investor-owned utilities evaluated across the country by the Wired Group, and second place in Florida. The Colorado-based consulting firm used an internet-based Utility Evaluator that calculates customer value rankings based on a variety of metrics, including efficiency of spending on capital investments, operations and maintenance, reliability and satisfaction ratings.
The Utility Evaluator simplifies credible utility performance evaluation and benchmarking, enabling standard and custom comparisons on costs, reliability, capital effectiveness, and more against user-defined peer groups. It compiles and compares performance data from multiple public sources including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, JD Powers and Associates’ annual customer satisfaction surveys and state regulatory filings.
Gulf Power also received multiple accolades in sub categories in the rankings, claiming the 9th spot out of 98 utilities evaluated in customer satisfaction based on overall customer rankings published annually by JD Power and Associates.
Unemployment Rate Drops
April 22, 2017
Governor Rick Scott announced Friday that the Pensacola area added 3,800 new private-sector jobs over the year in March. The area’s unemployment rate was 4.2 percent, down 0.5 percentage point from a year ago. In the last year, Florida businesses created 233,800 new jobs, bringing the total number of new jobs added since December 2010 to 1,353,000.
Governor Scott said, “I am proud to announce that Pensacola businesses created nearly 4,000 jobs for families in Northwest Florida over the past year. We will continue fighting to support business growth all across our state so every Floridian will have the opportunity they need to find a great job.”
The industries with the largest job gains in Pensacola over the year were leisure and hospitality with 1,700 new jobs and trade, transportation and utilities with 1,100 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 4,733 job openings in March, including 1,437 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
Statewide, Florida businesses created 60,600 new jobs in first quarter of 2017 and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 percent. For the fifth consecutive year, Florida’s annual job growth rate of 3.2 percent is exceeding the nation’s rate of 1.7 percent. More than 26,844 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Escarosa and the state’s other 23 regional workforce boards.
Jim Allen Elementary Celebrates Principal With ‘National Watts Day’
April 22, 2017
On Friday, the faculty and staff at Jim Allen Elementary showed their appreciation and love for their principal, Rachel Watts, by declaring the day “National Watts Day”. All grades, pre-kindergarten through fifth grade were involved in honoring Watts for her surprise celebration. All throughout the day, students and faculty showed their admiration for her.
The day began with messages posted on the school marquee and lawn signs with slogans such as “Happy National Mrs. Watts Day” , “#wattsday”, “#1 Principal” , “You’re the Best”, “We Love You!”. Even her parking space was reserved for “The Best Principal Ever”.
The front office and Watts’ desk were decorated with her favorite flowers and balloons of her favorite color.
The faculty and staff gathered in the front hall to kick off the festivities with a proclamation that declared that this day was to honor Watts for her outstanding leadership, her love, patience, kindness and goodness. Then she was presented with a crown to wear for the day.
A large sign in the hallway was mounted to allow students, faculty and staff to write a ‘thank you’ or simply sign their name.
The school’s “Friday Shout-Outs”, which is a weekly email highlighting faculty and staff for going above and beyond, was dedicated completely to Watts.
Every 15 minutes of the day, students arrived in the office to deliver apples and message cards to Watts with sayings like “You are the queen of our castle”, “You Rock!”, and “You are the type of leader others love to follow”. She collected the apples in a decorated bucket and posted the cards all over her office. Other students arrived with handwritten notes that said things like “You are my favorite principal!” and “You are the best principal ever!”.
Every 30 minutes, each school department or grade level came to give a variety of gifts such as; baskets of goodies, gift cards, chocolate, flowers, lunch from a favorite restaurant, beach bag, t-shirt stating “Most Special Principal in the Area” (from the special area department), cleverly written poems, and even a massage.
For Jim Allen Elementary, it was a day to show Watts what a wonderful leader she is and how much she is loved and appreciated for all that she does for the school.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Forestry On Alert For Local Fires
April 22, 2017
Nearly two dozen firefighters and support personnel from the Florida Forest Service’s Blackwater Forestry Center have been sent to other parts of the state to help fight the ever-increasing number of wildfires. With a reduced but adequate number of resources remaining to protect Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties, officials have increased the Fire Readiness Level and temporarily suspended the issuance of burn authorizations as a precautionary step only. There are no burn bans in place.
“Our fire activity has been held in check because of overnight moisture and early morning fog,” said David Smith, Operations Administrator for Blackwater. “We’re not seeing the number or size of fires that they are in other parts of the state so it’s safe to send some of our people out to help. With that said, we’re keeping the people and equipment we need here to respond to any fire we get in our coverage area.”
There currently are 104 active wildfires in the state of Florida that have burned more than 24,000 acres. Since January 1, 2017, there have been 1,627 fires for 80,335 acres. There are two fires in all of Blackwater currently for a total of 2.1 acres.
The Blackwater district includes Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Ernest Ward Middle SAC Honors Culinary Academy Members
April 22, 2017
Students in the Ernest Ward Middle School Culinary Academy were honored Friday morning during a meeting of the EWMS School Advisory Council. The EWMS Culinary Academy was recently named the Escambia County School District’s Middle School Career Academy of the Year. The culinary academy students provided a waffle breakfast for attendees. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FHP Cites Driver After Mobile Highway Crash
April 22, 2017
An Escambia County man was cited by the Florida Highway Patrol after a Friday afternoon crash at Mobile Highway and Eight Mile Creek Road.
The FHP said 45-year old Michael Ray Herron was southbound on Mobile Highway about 3:30 p.m. when he attempted to avoid a vehicle stopped in the roadway. His Ford F700 truck left the road, crossed the center line and overturned.
Herron was cited for driving too fast for conditions, no proof of insurance and no tag.
Northview’s Emily Brown Places In Northwest Florida Congressional Art Competition
April 22, 2017
Emily Brown, a sophomore at Northview High School, won honorable mention Friday night in the Northwest Florida Congressional Art Competition And Show at the Pensacola Museum of art.
Each spring, a nation-wide high school arts competition is sponsored by the Members of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Northwest Florida Congressional Art Competition and Show was an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent. There were about 100 pieces of art submitted for the compeition from high schools across the 1st Congressional District.
Other winners were:
Clarissa Vidaurri, Honorable Mention Milton High School, Senior
Kana Pitts, Honorable Mention, Fort Walton Beach High School, Junior
Alyssa Payne, Third Place, Fort Walton Beach High School, Freshmen
Dakota Voyce, Second Place, Crestview High School, Senior
Carly Cromwell, First Place, Gulf Breeze High School, Senior
Cromwell’s winning artwork will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. The exhibit in Washington will include the winning artwork from all participating districts from around the country. The winning artwork is also featured on House.gov’s Congressional Art Competition page.
Northview Falls To Freeport (With Gallery); Tate Falls To Escambia
April 22, 2017
The Freeport Bulldogs beat the Northview Chiefs 8-4 Friday night in Bratt.
Freeport took a 4-0 lead in the top of the third, but the Chiefs responded with four runs of their own in the bottom of the third. After a scoreless fourth inning, Freeport added four more runs in the top of the fifth for an 8-4 lead.
The Northview Chiefs will travel to Central on Monday before returning home for a Senior Night game Tuesday at 6 p.m. against Pensacola Christian.
The Chiefs will wrap up their regular season next Thursday on the road against the Pine Forest Eagles.
For a photo gallery, click here.
OTHER BASEBALL SCORES
Escambia 3, Tate 0
The Escambia Gators upset the No 1. Tate Aggies 3-0 Friday night.
All three of Escambia’s runs came in the bottom of the third.
For Tate – Logan McGuffey 1-3; Blake Anderson 1-2. Gabe Castro took the loss for Tate.
Escambia 10, Tate 2 (JV)
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
