Tate Tennis Boys And Girls Defeated Escambia 7-0
February 26, 2025
The Tate High Aggies boys and girls tennis teams defeated Escambia High 7-0 Tuesday. Next up, Tate will take on Crestview on Friday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ernest Ward Middle JV Volleyball Advances To County Championship
February 26, 2025
The Ernest Ward Middle School JV volleyball team had advanced to the county middle school volleyball JV championship Thursday.
Ernest Ward will face the Beulah Academy of Science at 5:30 p.m. in Fryman Gym at Tate High School. That game will be followed by the county varsity middle school championship game.
Pictured: The EWMS JV volleyball Tuesday evening. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scores: Tate Baseball, Softball And Lacrosse; Northview Baseball
February 26, 2025
SOFTBALL
Pace 8, Tate 0
Defending 6A state champions Pace defeated the Tate Lady Aggies 8-0 Tuesday night.
Kara Wine was 1-2 at the plate to lead the Aggies.
Thursday night, Tate will host Northview.
Navarre 6, Northview 3
With seven runs in the sixth inning, Navarre softball defeated Northview 9-3 Tuesday night in Navarre.
Addysen Bolen led Northview with two RBIs, and she went 2-3. Bailey Burkette also scored two hits for the Lady Chiefs.
Next, Northview will travel to Tate on Thursday.
BASEBALL
West Florida 12, Tate 2
The West Florida Jags defeated the Tate Aggies 12-2 Tuesday night.
Taite Davis and Connor Dethlefs each had two hits and one RBIs to lead the Aggies at bat. Dethlefs also recorded two stolen bases.
Up next, the Aggies will travel to Crestview on Thursday.
LACROSSE
Navarre 20, Tate 3
In girls lacrosse, the Navarre Raiders defeated the host Tate Aggies 20-3 Tuesday night
Tate will host Fort Walton Beach Thursday before traveling to West Florida on Friday.Both matchups are set for 6 p.m.
Parkrun At UWF Celebrating 250th Event, Six Years
February 25, 2025
Pensacola’s Rec Plex North parkrun will mark two significant milestones on Saturday, March 1, celebrating its 250th event and six years of bringing the community together through its FREE weekly timed 5k (3.1 miles) run/walk. Since its inception in February 2019 as the first parkrun on the campus of an American university, the weekly event has drawn more than 2,600 participants who have collectively completed over 20,000 runs covering 99,825 kilometers (62,028 miles) on the University of West Florida’s (UWF) scenic wooded trail.
The event, which routinely draws around 100 participants, has become known in the community for its friendly crowd that welcomes newcomers of all ages and abilities. “At every one of our events there are runners, joggers and walkers – parkrun is for everyone,” said Rob Gryskiewicz, who has volunteered at more than 175 parkruns and is now the co-event director with Caleb Carmichael, UWF’s cross country coach. “We’d love to have a big turnout for our 250th event and celebrate what makes this community so special.”
The free, volunteer-organized 5K has become a tourist attraction, drawing participants from across the United States and countries including Ireland, Germany, Poland, Canada, Australia, South Africa and the UK. These “parkrun tourists” have generated over 425 hotel room nights for the Pensacola area during their quest to visit new parkrun courses.
Each weekly parkrun is made possible by a thriving group of volunteers. “It’s a joy to see how the community has engaged and supported this event,” said Robin Foley, who co-founded the event in 2019. “We’re going strong after six great years thanks to hundreds of volunteers and the support of UWF, who allowed the use of their field and trails to make our parkrun possible.”
The partnership has benefited both organizations. Since parkrun volunteers revitalized the overgrown trail for the launch of their event in 2019, the site has once again become home to major cross country events like the ESCAROSA High School Championships and the Argonaut Invitational.
“Community engagement is a hallmark of our mission,” said Howard Reddy, UWF Vice President for University Advancement. “Mutually beneficial collaborations have been a key driver of our effort to become a community destination, so we’re proud to host parkrun and contribute to the immense health and wellness benefits it brings to our community.”
The success of the Pensacola event mirrors the global parkrun movement, which began in 2004 with just 13 runners in London’s Bushy Park. Today, about 400,000 people participate each Saturday at more than 2,500 free events across 23 countries.
New participants can register for free at ParkRun.us to receive a barcode for tracking their performance.
● What: 250th Rec Plex North parkrun
● When: Saturday, March 1, 7:30 a.m.
● Where: UWF Baars-Firestone Wildlife Sanctuary entrance (behind Lot Z at Rec Plex North)
● Cost: Free
Ice Flyers See Lead Slip Away Into OT Loss Against Evansville
February 24, 2025
No team in the league has played more overtime games than the Ice Flyers.
This season, that element has only compounded the overall struggles.
For a photo gallery, click here.
For the second time in a three-game weekend, the Ice Flyers lost a two-goal lead in the final period, then fell 3-2 in overtime Sunday against the Evansville Thunderbolts, ending a crucial series at the Pensacola Bay Center in the least desired way.
“It’s like there is just a black cloud over top of us and we got to get rid of it,” said Ice Flyers coach Rod Aldoff, who returned earlier in the week for a third time in his career behind the Ice Flyers bench, after a decision was made to release Gary Graham from his contract.
Friday night, the Ice Flyers opened the series with a 2-0 lead in the third period, only to fall 4-3. Saturday night, they tied the game in third period, but lost 3-2 in the post-overtime shootout.
Sunday, a 2-0 lead was erased by Evansville’s Issac Chapman, who scored with 11:59 left to halve the lead, then tied the game with just 2:30 remaining.
In the 3-on-3 overtime period, the Thunderbolts got a 2-on-1 rush after an Ice Flyers turnover and Aidan Litke kept the puck and wristed a shot past Ice Flyers goaltender Ricardo Gonzalez for the game winner.
Playing in just his second game since joining the team this week, Gonzalez stopped 32 shots, including a penalty shot and other great saves, but Evansville’s resolve led to a big weekend. The Thunderbolts picked up six points to climb all the way into fifth place in the Southern Professional Hockey League standings.
The Ice Flyers (14-23, 8 OT losses, 36 points) gained just two points, but still closed to within a point of ninth-place Macon and only two points behind the Quad City Storm for eighth-place and the final playoff spot.
Confronting the Ice Flyers, however, is they’ve played more games (45) than any other team in the league. They also have to travel next weekend to Roanoke, Virginia to face the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs, the third place team in the league for back-to-back games.
A two-week break between games will follow before the Ice Flyers host Quad City for back-to-back games March 14-15 that will like be make-or-break for playoff hopes.
“We’re past urgency,” said Aldoff, who guided the Ice Flyers to three of their four SPHL championships during his tenure. “It’s Game 7 every day for us.
“We played some good hockey,” he said. “I was impressed with the team overall. I used this weekend to evaluate a lot. I’m evaluating everybody in this situation… and I liked a lot of things.
“It’s just a matter of getting this cloud over our head (removed). Because we were in great position Friday night and great position (Sunday) to finish those games off. And we found a way not to. We have to change that.”
Blake Tosto was involved in both goals to give the Ice Flyers their 2-0 lead after two periods. He assisted on Greg Susinski’s first period goal, then Tosto buried a shot on a feed from Ivan Bondarenko during 5-minute power play in the second period.
But just as Friday’s lead slipped from the Ice Flyers’ grasp, this game took the same course.
“First (Evansville) goal, (puck) bounced off the boards and off the slot and bounced a few times right on their (stick blade) tape and the shot goes up high into the net,” Aldoff said. “It’s just sequence after sequence of bad puck luck.
“We fought hard. We did a lot of good things. We played a pretty good game as far as I’m concerned. The effort and tenacity was there. It’s just a bad bounce here or there.”
Both of Evansville goals followed situations where the Ice Flyers were unable to clear the puck from their zone. And too many times, when the Ice Flyers cleared the puck, it was a icing call and the faceoff was back in their zone.
“If you look at how Evansville played, one thing I think that’s important, is they got pucks and just flipped them out and they got to the red (center ice line) and flipped them in,” Aldoff said.
“That’s all they did for nine periods. There were times when we were trying to make plays when there was no play there. And we just need to flip those pucks out. Just get it out, get it deep and go to work on it.
So these are things, it’s a learning process, game management and knowing the situation you’re in. You don’t need to make something that’s not there. Just keep it simple and get it out and live another day and just keep doing it. They literally did that for nine periods.”
Here’s a quick recap.
FIRST PERIOD
The Ice Flyers caught a break when one Evansville shot clanged off the goal post with 6:30 remaining. Two minutes later, Gonzalez made a big save on a point blank chance from the crease area.
With 3:50 left in the period, Susinski got a feed from Tosto following a face off and rifled a shot through traffic past Evansville goaltender Cole Ceci, who finished the game with 37 saves and won all three games in net.
There were no penalties in the period.
SECOND PERIOD
Ice Flyers captain Jake Hamilton, returning from a five-game, league-imposed suspension, made his presence known by dropping a Evansville player during a brawl that led to each team getting two guys in the penalty box.
The Ice Flyers thought they had a second goal during the 13-minute mark, but the replays showed the puck hit the cross ball, bounced down and straddled the goal line before rolling away. The referee made the right call in waving it off, even though the goal light came on.
With 9:48 remaining Evansville’s Grayson Valente was hit with a 5-minute major penalty for boarding. During the power play, Bondarenko made a perfect pass to Tosto who buried the shot for the two-goal lead.
THIRD PERIOD
After Gonzalez thwarted Evansville’s Scott Kirton on a penalty shot – awarded after the Ice Flyers’ Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira was called for closing his gloves on the puck in the crease area with 13:31 left – the Ice Flyers seemed in good shape.
But Chapman gave his team momentum with a goal from just outside the faceoff circle. He then buried a wide open look with 2:30 remaining.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WHO: Ice Flyers vs. Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs
WHEN: Friday-Saturday, both games at 6:05 p.m. (CST)
WHERE: Berglund Center, Roanoke, Virginia.
NEXT HOME GAMES: March 14-15 vs. Quad City Storm.
Pace Walks Off With A Win In Saturday Game Against Tate
February 23, 2025
The Pace Patriots walked off with a 4-3 win Saturday afternoon over the Tate Aggies. The game in Pace was tied in the bottom of the ninth when the Patriots hit a solo home run.
Nathan Ozuna and Kaden Posta both had two hits for the Aggies. Posta, Nathan Connors, and Evan Taylor each recorded and RBI.
Zane Warrington went eight and two-thirds innings for Tate, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out one.
The Aggies will hit the road this week, with games at West Florida on Tuesday, Crestview on Thursday and Fort Walton Beach on Friday. Tate won’t be back at home until a March 4 game against the Milton Panthers.
Thunderbolts Defeat Ice Flyers In Shootout
February 23, 2025
In Saturday night’s rematch against Evansville, the Ice Flyers forced overtime, but the Thunderbolts claimed victory in a shootout.
Myles Abbate opened the scoring with a quick shot past goaltender Ricky Gonzalez, who was making his first start as an Ice Flyer.
Sam Dabrowski and Bronson Adams energized the home crowd of 6,829 when they dropped the gloves at center ice to close out the first period.
For more photos, click here.
Matt Wiesner evened the score with a hard-fought second-effort shot off a deflection from Eimantas Noreika.
Logan Vande Meerakker restored the Thunderbolts’ lead five minutes into the third period.
Nick Pryce tied the game again with a snipe from the faceoff circle late in the period.
After a scoreless overtime, Evansville’s Scott Kirton and Aidan Litke secured the win in the shootout.
Northview Lady Chiefs Beat Blacksher 17-2
February 22, 2025
The Northview Chiefs beat the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs of Uriah, Alabama, 17-2 in three innings on a frigid night in Bratt.
Kylee Langham drove in five runs with two hits.
The Northview Chiefs powered to a big lead in the bottom of the first with seven runs on five hits for a 7-1 advantage. During the first, Kylee Langham drove in three runs.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Senior Jamison Gilman earned the win for the Lady Chiefs, giving up four hits and two runs over the three-inning game, walking two and striking out two.
Daviona Randolph and Langham both had two hits for Northview. Gilman, Riley Brooks, Mikayla McAnally, Avery Stuckey, Bailey Burkette, and Aubrey Hadley each added one hit.
The Lady Chiefs will play two on the road next week — Tuesday at Navarre and Thursday at Tate.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Tennis Boys And Girls Defeat Milton
February 22, 2025
The Tate Aggies boys and girls tennis teams both defeated Milton 7-0 Friday night.
“It is a new rebuild for the boys team after losing several seniors last year,” Coach David Bonucchi said after the win. “But new players are developing. And our girls are returning players who are working hard to improve.
Up next, Tate will face the Escambia Gatos on Tuesday.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Drop Friday Night Game To The Escambia Gators (Gallery)
February 22, 2025
Down by four in the sixth inning, a Northview comeback fell short as the 1A Chiefs lost to the 5A Escambia Gators on a cold Friday in Bratt.
Grayden Sheffield took the loss for the Chiefs, allowing two runs on six hits, walking four and striking out seven in five innings. Jackson Bridges threw two innings, surrendering two runs on three hits with no walks or strikeouts.
Jackson Bridges, Luke Chavers, Cole Davis, Jase Portwood, Grayden Sheffield, and Brady Smith each record one hit for the Chiefs. Portwood and Jayden White each had one RBI for Northview.
Up next, the Northview Chiefs will host their neighbors to the north, the Blue Devils on Escambia County at 6 p.m. next Thursday.
NorthEscamiba.com photos, click to enlarge.
