Week After Win Over Northview, Trinity Christian Wins State Title
December 11, 2010
The Trinity Christian Conquerors — the school that beat the Northview Chiefs last week — won the Class 1A state title Friday night at the Citrus Bowl.
Andrew Buie had 31 carries for 242 yards as the Conquerors beat Delray Beach American Heritage 27-10. It was the third state championship in the past eight years for Trinity Christian (12-2), which ended their year with an 11-game winning streak.
The Northview Chiefs’ state championship dreams were crushed a week ago by the Conquerors of Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, 49-14, in the Class 1A State Semifinals. It was first ever Semifinal appearance for Northview (11-2). In 1979, the Eagles of Ernest Ward High School last brought the only modern time Class A football championship back to the area Ernest Ward would later merge with the Century Blackcats to create Northview.
Pictured top: Trinity gains yardage against Northview December 3 in Jacksonville. NorthEscambia.com photo by Will Dickey, the Florida Times Union, click to enlarge.
NHS Girls Weightlifting Team Competes In Ft. Walton
December 11, 2010
Friday, Northview’s Girls Weightlifting Team participated in the Emerald Coast Invitational at Choctawhatchee High School in Ft. Walton. There were 10 teams, with Northview placing eight overall.
The following girls placed in the top 10 in their weight class:
- Ariel Holland- 7th
- Laneicia Gomez-3rd
- Sarah Killiam -10th
- Audra Martin-9th
- Naomi Cooler-7th
Pictured top: The Northview’s Girls Weightlifting Team participated in the Emerald Coast Invitational at Choctawhatchee High School in Ft. Walton Friday afternoon. Pictured below: Laneicia Gomez (center) placed third in her weight category. Submitted photos for NorthEsambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lady Chiefs Weightlifting Team Places In West Fla. Meet
December 10, 2010
Several members of the Northview High School girls weightlifting team placed during their first meet of the season at West Florida High School.
The Northview girls competed in bench press and clean and jerk. West Florida High School placed first overall, followed by Northview in second and Washington High in third.
The following Northview girls placed in their weight class:
- Georgia Geotter, sophomore -4th
- Kasie Braun, freshman -3rd
- Laneicia Gomez, senior -1st
- Mallory Bell, senior -4th
- Sarah Killam, senior -1st
- Audra Martin, freshman -4th
- Brittany Peebles, senior -1st
- Naomi Cooler, senior -2nd
- Te’Andreia Knight, sophomore -3rd
For more photos from the meet, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com
Wins For NHS Girls, JV Boys Against Baker
December 10, 2010
The Northview Chiefs split games with the Baker Gators Thursday evening, with wins for the Chiefs’ varsity girls, and junior varsity girls.
Varsity Boys
Baker 47, Northview 45
The Northview varsity Chiefs and the Baker Gators were tied 45-45 headed into the final minutes of their game Thursday night in Bratt. But with a couple of free throws, the Gators pulled out a 47-45 victor.
Varsity Girls
Northview 43, Baker 37
JV Boys
Northview 29, Baker 23
JV Girls
Baker 30, Northview 13
Ernest Ward Basketball Player, 13, Airlifted After Game Injury
December 9, 2010
A 13-year old Ernest Ward Middle School girls basketball player was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital after suffering an apparent head injury during a Thursday night game.
Brianna Parker was transported by LifeFlight to Sacred Heart Hospital. She was released from the hospital Thursday night after being treated for a concussion.
Pictured above: LifeFlight lands at the Walnut Hill Fire Station to transport an injured Ernest Ward Middle School girls basketball player. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Local Football Players Honored At Challenger Awards Banquet
December 7, 2010
The 42nd annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes Challenger Awards banquet Monday night honored high school football players for their spiritual leadership.
The players from across the area heard inspirational stories from four University of Alabama players — running back Trent Richardson, offensive lineman Barrett Jones, wide receiver Hardie Buck, and wide receiver Earl Alexander.
The players honored from the North Escambia area were Austin Arrington from Northview, Zach Mitchell from Tate, Tanner Kirk from Escambia Academy, Jonathon Stallworth from Escambia County (Ala.), Brian Ross from Flomaton and Kevin Stanton from Jay.
Pictured: Northview’s Austin Arrington and Jay’s Kevin Stanton were honored during the 42nd annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes Challenger Awards banquet Monday night. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pensacola’s Johanna Long Wins The Snowball Derby
December 6, 2010
Pensacola’s Johanna Long became the second, and the youngest, female to win the Snowball Derby Sunday in one of the wildest finishes short-track racing’s most prestigious event has seen.
Long, 18, shed tears of joy after hoisting the Tom Dawson trophy to celebrate a historic victory in the 43rd annual Snowball Derby.
Two North Escambia area residents placed in Sunday’s race. Brandon Carlson finished 33rd, while Eddie Mercer placed 37th.
Long joins Mercer (2005), Dickie Davis (1971, 1973) and Wayne Niedecken Sr. (1968) as hometown heroes to find Victory Lane at the Derby.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” Long, 18, said. “I can’t believe I did it. We worked so hard on this.”
Long shifted into another gear late when several of Sunday’s 16 cautions began to wave as the Derby neared its completion and drivers got antsy.
Fresh tires allowed her to pass Landon Cassill on Lap 316 for a lead she never relinquished, but not before Cassill went for a spin on the back straightaway and an ugly collision ensued behind him.
“She had new tires and was way faster than us,” said the 21-year-old Iowan, who finished fourth. “To run fourth here is a great accomplishment. I know I can win this.”
Five Flags’ asphalt is notorious for chewing up tires and spitting them out. This edition of the Derby was no different.
“(Cassill) understood,” said Long, who led 23 laps Sunday, including the final 13. “I had good tires and he didn’t.”
Several leaders lost their shot at racing immortality by foolishly believing their tires would hold up.
Chase Elliott, leading at the time, saw an unprecedented Snowflake 100-Derby weekend sweep fall by the wayside when Cassill spun him on Lap 298.
Before a green-white-checkered finish could be determined, the tower’s official ruling was that the drivers had to complete five total laps under green. Long sat outside the top five.
“I was nervous,” she said. “I was very concerned.”
She blew past Casey Smith and followed Cassill by then-leader Donnie Wilson on Lap 313.
Wilson was a terrific story Sunday. With Freddie Query, Long’s old crew chief, in his tower, Wilson made a valiant run playing the dark-horse role Sunday.
“Our track position was real good,” he said. “It was just our pit stops put us in a bad position. We still finished in the top five, so I’ll take it. I’m not gonna complain.”
Long finally won’t have to either. She was perfect on the green-white-checkered restart, pulling away from Wilson and never having to sweat in the final two laps.
Long stuck her fist outside the window into the cool air and pumped it as the checkered flag swayed in the wind.
A sometimes frustrating season was erased in a blink Sunday.
She came into the Derby win-less this year. Long gained invaluable experience while competing in seven NASCAR’s trucks series races, but her million-dollar smile paid the price for it.
Her confidence never wavered, though.
“I knew the team was working hard,” Long said. “They wanted to win just as much as I did. We finally did it.”
The home-schooled senior has faced many challenging tests this year. In her final exam, though, Long passed with flying colors.
“There’s been a lotta learning this year. It’s been tough,”said Donald Long, Johanna’s father and car owner. “We’ve made a few mistakes here and there, but we wanna race for a living. Hopefully, this gets us to that point.”
Video Highlights: Northview’s Playoff Game Against Trinity Christian
December 6, 2010
Here are video highlights by Keith Garrison from Northview’s Friday night playoff game on the road against Trinity Christian.
(The video is in three parts below.)
For game details and photos, click here for the NorthEscambia.com story.
Chase Elliot — Catches, Chases And Wins Snowflake 100
December 5, 2010
Watch closely. Chase Elliott is ready to amaze at any moment.
A teenage sensation in every sense of the word, Elliott has only been racing for seven of his 15 years.
But each time he climbs into one of his trademark No. 9 cars, the improbable seems likely for the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott.
It happened again in the Snowflake 100 on Saturday night at Five Flags Speedway.
Elliott started 31st out of 36 cars. When it was over, he wildly swung the checkered flag above his head as water, Red Bull and the crowd’s roar washed over him.
“It really shows how hard we worked for this,” said Elliott, who assumed the lead on Lap 86. “To have as many problems today … and to comeback, I’m just thankful.”
Elliott started near the tail end of the field after winning one of two last-chance qualifiers earlier Saturday. That was only necessary after he was disqualified following qualifying because officials ruled the nose of his car was too low.
None of it mattered. In fact, some of Elliott’s rivals thought the afternoon race might have helped him.
“He saw what was working,” said Bubba Pollard, who moved from third to second after Landon Cassill was disqualified in post-race inspection. “He’s a good little race-car driver, though.”
The good little race-car driver methodically made his way from the back of the pack while Augie Grill comfortably led for more than 70 laps (7 to 78).
Elliott began to lean on the throttle a little bit more at the midway point, as he cracked the top 10.
Then, he just began embarrassing drivers, especially coming out of Turn 4 where he shined.
He mowed down Pensacola’s Johanna Long, who finished a disappointing 13th after running in the top five early. He did away with today’s Snowball Derby polesitter Cale Gale.
Before you knew it, Elliott was up to fifth by Lap 70.
“I don’t believe it. The longer it went, the better he got,” papa Bill said.
The younger Elliott caught a burst of speed on Dwayne Buggay for third on Lap 78.
A lap later, Pollard past Grill for the lead, but the kid wasn’t far from making his final move.
“We had a good car; we just missed a little bit,” Pollard said. “I think I raced to hard at the beginning with Augie, but that’s how he races.”
After being the class of the field early, Grill fell back to sixth by the Snowflake’s end.
Long felt the sting of defeat, too, because the handling of her car continued to get worse as the race rolled on.
“It’s disappointing,” she said. “I expected so much.”
The expectations will culminate in today’s 43rd annual running of the Derby, America’s most prestigious short-track race.
It has been, unquestionably, a messy weekend out at Five Flags with some vicious crashes.
The Pro Late Models, though, proved their mettle by running green for the opening 34 laps before the first yellow came out. Dillon Oliver nudged Pensacola’s Tommy Rollins into the Turn 2 wall.
There was just one other yellow the rest of the way, as the race finished in a blazing time of right at an hour.
Nothing was as fast as Elliott, though.
“I thought at one point we were too loose,” he said.
Too loose? Now, that’s amazing.
Blog: We Love Our Northview Chiefs!
December 4, 2010
While the Northview Chiefs fell short of their shot at a state championship game, fans rallied behind the team before, during and after Friday night’s loss to Trinity Christian in Jacksonville.
Prior to the game, the Chiefs were guests of honor at a huge sendoff pep rally (read more), and a large group of dedicated fans made the cross-state trip to Jacksonville for the game, including two “spirit buses” (read more.). During the game, the visitor’s bleachers at Trinity Christian were near standing room only.
The Chiefs were not winners according to the scoreboard in Jacksonville. But the scoreboard is not the only measure of winning.
Their whole season stands as a testament to gridiron grit and determination. Blood. Sweat. And tears. They were not running backs, defensive linemen and quarterbacks. They were a team. It brings the Kenny Chesney “Boys of Fall” song to mind, “It’s I got your number, I got your back when your back’s against the wall…You mess with one man you got us all…The boys of fall.”
Two years ago, our Chiefs were 2-8. The fans were there. Granted, an extreme amount of spirit was hard to muster at times, but the fans were there. This year, at 11-2 and going to a playoff level never achieved by Northview the fans where there. And the spirit was obvious in the school, and in our communities.
Many fans never hear the post-game chant as the players, coaches and cheerleaders gather on the field after each game. It begins likes this:
“I’ll be a Chiefs, till the day I die…”
Fans are fans until the end. That’s school spirit. Sure, tears were shed after the loss and a win would have been great, but losing can be one of those life lessons. When boys become men and a team, cheerleaders, band, ROTC, fans, and a community become one.
It was when our Northview Chiefs earned the right to be called champions.
Within minutes of the game ending Friday night, our comments section and Facebook page became a testament to the fact that we are all proud to be part of the Northview Chief family. There was nothing negative, only praise for our champions. We wanted to share the thoughts of our Facebook fans, all posted within minutes of the game’s end:
- Sharon Martin-Dudley — great job Northview!
- Carl Emmons — WTG Northview Chiefs on an Awesome season !!!!!!
- Deni Deron — Great job Northview! You guys are awesome!!
- Gina Chandler Robbins — Awesome job our guy’s did playing this year..Go Northview!!!
- Jenn Castor — Way to go on an AWESOME season, Chiefs — proud of ya!
- Tammy Turner Amison — Great season Chiefs. Hold your head’s high!!!
- Terry Emmons — So proud of all you guys. Proud to be a Chief. Go Chiefs!!!!
- Brigitte Ward — Aww sad
but good job NHS! - Ashley Bonner — So proud of the guys & to be a Northview Chief! Yall had an awesome season! Go Chiefs!
- Kimberly Navarro Edmonson — Whether you won the last game or not ~You guys are Champs!!
- Brad Johnson — Great season Chiefs!
- Karen Driver — Proud of you Chiefs you had a great season.
- Laura Ziglar Gross — Win or lose I’m still proud to say I’m from Bratt home of the Northview Chiefs!
- NorthEscambia.com — We love our Northview Chiefs!
Hold your heads high. We are all proud of our Champion Northview Chiefs.