Escambia County Parades Past Monroe County (With Photo Gallery)
October 22, 2011
The Escambia County Blue Devils of Atmore celebrated Homecoming Friday night with a 33-0 shutout of Monroe County.
Chris Johnson, a sophomore, led the Blue Devils with 14 of 25 passes completed for a personal-best 290 yards and four touchdowns — including touchdown passes of 71 and 26 yards to Carl Staples, a 96-yard TD pass to Derrick Williams and a 14-yarder to Malcolm English.
For a photo gallery from Escambia County High School’s Homecoming Parade through the streets of Atmore Friday afternoon, click here.
Pictured: Escambia County High School’s Homecoming Parade rolls through Atmore Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos by Marcella Wilson, click to enlarge.
Baker Beats Jay
October 22, 2011
The Baker Gators defeated the Jay Royals 61-26 Friday night in Baker. The Gators amassed 500 yards of total offense against the Royals.
Jay’s Allen Perry had just over 100 rushing yards of his own for the Royals, while Jay quarterback Tate Upton had 172 yards passing with two touchdowns. Sammy James had two touchdowns for the Royals.
Jay (3-5, 0-2) will travel to Graceville in a non-district game at 7 p.m. Friday.
On A Roll: West Florida Wins Another One
October 22, 2011
The West Florida Jaguars are on a big time wining streak — the longest ever in the history of the school. With a 25-19 win over Rutherford Friday night, the Jags improved to 7-0.
West Florida took an early lead with 7:03 to go in the first quarter with a field goal from Luke Jackson on the opening driver for the Jags. West Florida scored again with 7:03 in the first with a 43-yard touchdown by Lawrence Lee on a pass from Kyle Faxlanger. A good kick from Luke Jackson, and Jaguars were up 10-0.
West Florida scored again in the first with a 25-yard field goal from Jackson.
In the second, the Jaguars saw a Lee touchdown on a 46-yard pass from Faxlanger and a 38-yard field goal from Jackson. In the third, West Florida had a safety after Rutherford snapped the pigskin over the kicker’s head.
West Florida (7-0, 3-0) will host Arnold next Friday night in a district matchup.
Perfect Score: Lady Royals Sweep Cross Country Meet With Tate, Northview, EWMS
October 20, 2011
The Jay High School Lady Royals achieved a perfect score in a recent cross country meet at Simms Middle School in Pace — capturing the top five places in a field of over 70 runners from eight schools, including Northview and Tate. It was the first perfect score for the Lady Royals since the mid-1990’s.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
“When the Lady Royals started the season they assumed it would be a rebuilding year because the Royals had lost three of their top five runners,” said Coach Stan Blackman.
Robin Blackman had led the Royals last season and went on to run at Troy University. Leely Trevino now attends FSU and helped to lead the Royals to state last year where they become Florida’s top public school in class 1A.
“But this season has turned out to be anything but average,” Blackman said.
Top runners for the Lady Royals were:
1st place Jorja Agrait — 21:53
2nd place Allison Blair — 22:12
3Rd place Jessica Thornton — 22:15
4th place Savannah Brown — 23:03
5th place Jenna Thornton — 23:05
9th Place Ally Settle
12th Place Kristen Pike
Northview, Tate, Central, Milton, Pace, and Rocky Bayou also took part in the meet at Simms Middle. Scores and stats were not available Wednesday from host school Pace High School.
For a photo gallery from the event, click here.
Pictured top: The Northview High School and Ernest Ward Middle School boys begin a cross country meet at Simms Middle School in Pace. Pictured inset: Jorja Agrait was the top female runner. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Senate Looks At Limiting Landowner Liability For Hunting, Fishing
October 20, 2011
A Senate committee Wednesday began moving forward with a bill that would limit the legal liability of landowners who allow people to use their property for hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing.
Supporters said the bill, which is part of a package of legislative proposals by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, could help encourage more people to enjoy the outdoors.
“One of the things that keeps people from opening up their lands is they’re afraid of being sued,” said Sen. Steve Oelrich, R-Gainesville.
But the proposal also faced questions from some lawmakers and the Florida Justice Association, which represents trial lawyers.
Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice, questioned whether guests on the land would also have liability protections for damage they might unintentionally cause. “You just can’t have one side give up their rights and not the other side,” she said.
The Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee introduced the bill and will have to bring it up again before voting.
By The News Service of Florida
Minor League Baseball Owners Headed To Pensacola
October 20, 2011
The newest member of Minor League Baseball’s Southern League, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, will host owners and representatives from other Southern League teams at a league meeting this weekend on Pensacola Beach.
The meeting, an off-season gathering of team owners and front office staff, is a yearly conference focusing on the business aspects of the league and the various legal, technical, and financial aspects of the baseball industry. As the Southern League’s newest member, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos volunteered to host the meeting.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos president Bruce Baldwin said the conference would be an opportunity to introduce Pensacola to the rest of the league.
“All of these teams have heard of Pensacola, and know about the Blue Wahoos. As the newest member of the Southern League, we thought it would be a great way to connect with the other teams, and at the same time to show them what a great city Pensacola is, if we hosted the owners’ meeting here. Almost all of these teams are within a day trip to Pensacola,” said Baldwin. “And this meeting gives us a chance to not only show off this great location for baseball, but also build a positive perception of Pensacola around the Southeast,” Baldwin said.
Representatives from Minor League baseball teams across the Southeast will attend the conference, to be held at the Springhill Suites Marriott on Pensacola Beach. Attendees will participate in the conference meetings, dine at local restaurants, and tour the stadium at the Community Maritime Park. Baldwin said he was hopeful that the meetings would give the other team owners and executives a chance to see Pensacola up close.
“My colleagues in baseball are already talking about Pensacola – they know about the Blue Wahoos, they know about the waterfront stadium, and they’re learning about our City. Now they’ll get to see first-hand what a great place this is,” Baldwin continued. “I’m excited for the Blue Wahoos to host this meeting, to show off our new home at the Maritime Park, and to support our local community.”
The Southern League is comprised of ten teams in two divisions, and Pensacola is the latest member of a select group of 90 cities across the country that host major-league baseball affiliates.
Volleyball: Northview, Escambia Split Games
October 19, 2011
The Escambia Gators defeated the Northview Chiefs Monday in varsity high school volleyball action, while the junior varsity Lady Chiefs beat Escambia in the final games of the regular season.
Varsity
Escambia defeated Northview 19-25, 13-25, 17-25.
Senior Jose Docuette had one ace, two kills, one block and two digs for the Lady Chiefs, while Morgan Payne added one ace, two kills, one block and dig. Shelley Motherside contributed three assists, one block and two digs, as Misty Doran Posted one ace, four kills, one block and a dig.
Northview finished the regular season at 4-18, 3-5 in the district.
Junior Varsity
The JV Lady Chiefs defeated the Escambia Gators 25-12, 25-19.
Danielle Steadham had five aces and two kills for the JV Lady Chiefs, as Hannah Fiellin posted four aces, three kills and two assists. Tiffani Pritchett added two aces and seven assists, and Rebecca Grim had five kills for Northview.
The JV Lady Chiefs finished their season at 11-8, 4-2 in the district.’
Pictured top: The Northview varsity volleyball team. Pictured below: The junior varsity Lady Chiefs. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Fish Story: Santa Rosa Man Catches Florida’s Largest Catfish
October 19, 2011
A Santa Rosa County man now holds the distinction of having landed the largest flathead catfish ever caught with a rod and reel in Florida waters.
Eric Auston Jr., 33, was fishing with his good friend October 9 at 2:30 a.m. in the Yellow River when he caught a flathead catfish weighing 55.05 pounds. He used a rod and reel with 25-pound-test line and a small bluegill as bait, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
His fish was substantially larger than the existing Florida record flathead – a fish that weighed 49.39 pounds, caught in the Apalachicola River in 2004. Auston said he fishes for flatheads only a few times each year. His biggest flathead prior to last weekend weighed 42 pounds, but that fish was caught on a bush hook.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) maintains records for most species of freshwater fish. The FWC will present Auston with a certificate of his record catch for display.
Jay, Flomaton Beat Two Monroe County JV Teams
October 19, 2011
The junior varsity football teams from Jay and Flomaton high schools both celebrated wins Tuesday against teams from Monroe County, Alabama.
The JV ‘Canes defeated Excel 48-8 in Flomaton. And the junior varsity Jay Royals ended their season with a win over Uriah 28-0.
Go Little Chiefs: Northview Plans Mini Cheerleading Clinic
October 18, 2011
The annual Northview Mini-Cheerleading Clinic will be held Thursday evening, giving area girls the chance to cheer at an upcoming Northview Chiefs game.
The clinic will be from from 5:30 until 7:30 p.m Thursday in the school gym. The clinic is open to children three-years old through the eighth grade. Cost is $10 per person, and t-shirts will be available for purchase the at the clinic.
The girls will perform during the October 21st Northview Chiefs football game at home against Freeport High School. They girls will receive free admission to the game,ribbon and a megaphone filled with goodies.
For questions, call Anna at Northview at (850) 327-6681.
Pictured: Mini-cheerleaders perform last year at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.