Advance Tickets On Sale For Escambia Academy At Northview
August 30, 2017
The Northview Chiefs will host the Escambia Academy Cougars Friday night in Bratt, and presale tickets are available now.
Advance tickets are $5 for adults or students, $1 for elementary students and are available in the Northview office during school hours.
For more information, call Teresa Johnson at (850) 327-6627 ext. 225
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Chiefs Name Players Of The Week
August 29, 2017
Northview High School has named players of the week from their 14-7 win over the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs.
Trent Peebles (#25 above) was named Dominator of the Week. He broke six tackles and carried two defenders 14 yards on a game-clinching run.
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Lance McLaughlin (#52 above) was named Defensive Player of the Week with 10 tackles, two tackles for a loss and one sack.
Aunterio Minor (#1 above) was named the Offensive Player of the Week with 17 rushes for 121 yards.
Hunter Spence (above) was named Special Teams Player of the Week with three punts and zero return yards.
Also, Hunter Breedlove was named the Scout Team Player of the Week.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Earn 400th Franchise Win
August 29, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos appear to have found a new closer with seven games left in the regular season. It is right hander Tanner Rainey whose fastball often breaks 100 mph.
Rainey earned his first Double-A save for the Blue Wahoos with his last three pitches all in triple digits as Pensacola snapped a four-game losing streak with a, 3-2, win Monday over the Mississippi Braves in front of 4,001 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The 24-year-old Rainey in his last two relief appearances has struck out seven of the eight outs and walked one. For the Blue Wahoos he has 23 strikeouts in 14 innings over 11 appearances with a 1.93 ERA.
The former West Alabama first baseman, who holds that school’s home run record with 19, also singled in his first professional at bat.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly was asked after the game if Rainey, in his third professional season, would be the Blue Wahoo’s closer.
“I think so,” Kelly said. “I liked what I saw. That’s impressive. He throws the ball hard and can swing the bat.”
The game also marked Pensacola starter Austin Ross looking back in form in his fifth start since spending a month on the DL with tightness in his throwing shoulder. He was limited to 14.2 innings over four starts but Monday the 28-year-old right hander cut loose with 93 pitches in 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks with no strikeouts.
Ross is now 8-0 with a Southern League-leading 1.89 ERA.
“I’ve never been shut down during the year,” Ross said. “It was frustrating but at the same time it was the right thing to do. I knew I would have a decent amount of pitches. I wish I had gone deeper (than 5.2 innings.)”
Kelly also liked having the old Ross back in the rotation, especially with the playoffs approaching Sept. 6.
“This is the first time since he’s come back that he looked like he was his old self,” Kelly said.
Ross’s eighth win on the season was also Pensacola’s 400th win since its inaugural season in 2012. The club has 426 losses, posting winning records in only its last two seasons.
The Blue Wahoos first victory in franchise history occurred on opening day April 5, 2012 when they defeated the Montgomery Biscuits, 3-1. Pensacola third baseman Henry Alejandro Rodriguez, who drove in all three Blue Wahoos runs, smashed a two-run home run in the eighth inning off Montgomery reliever Frank De Los Santos for the victory. Pensacola reliever Justin Freeman earned the win and closer Donnie Joseph picked up the save.
“That’s cool,” Ross said. “It’s always good to be a part of something like that, especially with a class organization like Pensacola.”
To make a bid for the Southern League championship, Kelly said he needs other players to return to health like second baseman Shed Long, who is expected to start Tuesday after playing his last game Aug. 3.
Also third baseman Nick Senzel, the Cincinnati Reds top prospect, left the game Thursday after one at bat because he felt dizzy but he has yet to be cleared to play. Senzel had 10 home runs, 34 RBIs and a .340 batting average in half a season in Double-A.
Mississippi catcher Alex Jackson hit a bomb, his third homer for the Braves, to left field in the second inning to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.
Pensacola went ahead, 2-1, in the fourth inning. The first run scored with the bases loaded and one out when shortstop Blake Trahan hit a chopper to Mississippi third baseman Connor Joe, who dropped the ball, allowing first baseman Gavin LaValley to score. LaValley led off the fourth with a double, crushing a fly ball over the head of Mississippi center fielder Keith Curcio.
The second run in the fourth inning scored when Pensacola starting pitcher Austin Ross came up with the bases loaded and knocked in his third RBI of his career when center fielder Jonathan Reynoso scored. Ross hit a chopper that Braves first baseman Joey Meneses dove and caught and threw to second to get Trahan at second base for the second out of the inning.
Pensacola left fielder Gabriel Guerrero scored in the fifth inning when Aristides Aquino grounded out into a double play with the bases loaded and no outs to go ahead, 3-1.
Mississippi came back in the sixth inning when Jackson singled up the middle to drive in shortstop Dylan Moore to trail Pensacola, 3-2.
That’s when the Blue Wahoos turned to their bullpen. Zack Weiss threw 1.2 scoreless innings and didn’t allow a hit with walking one and striking out two. Then Rainey finished up the game.
The Blue Wahoos are guaranteed to be in the Southern League playoffs after winning the first half and are currently in fourth place at 29-34. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are in first at 35-28 in the Southern Division, six games ahead of Pensacola.
Bonus Gallery: Tribal Beat Band, NHS Cheerleaders
August 28, 2017
For a bonus photo gallery of the Northview High School cheerleaders and Tribal Beat Band from Friday night, click here.
For a photo gallery of football action as Northview beat Blacksher, click here.
For a game recap story, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Lose Fourth Straight
August 28, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost a 2-1 lead with two outs and a 0-2 count in the ninth inning on Mississippi Braves shortstop Dylan Moore. Moore blasted a two-run double into the gap to right center to put his team on top, 3-2.
Mississippi went on to score four runs in the inning and win, 5-2, Sunday in front of 4,669 at Blue Wahoos Stadium. It was the Blue Wahoos fourth straight loss.
Manager Pat Kelly said the Blue Wahoos would probably have to win their last eight games to have the slightest chance of winning a Southern League record five straight halves.
“We have two outs and two strikes and a chance to win the game and we can’t finish,” Kelly said. “Those are disappointing losses.”
Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Keury Mella looked like he had broken the jinx and finally earned his first win this season at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Mella looked dominant, tossing six scoreless innings, allowed just two hits, walked two and struck out seven Mississippi hitters.
Mella pitched to the minimum 12 batters through the first four innings, allowing just one hit. He loaded the bases with one out in the fifth inning but got Mississippi catcher Jonathan Morales to ground out into a double play to end the scoring threat. In the sixth, Mississippi again put runners at second and third with one out but Mella got a K and fly out to center field.
Coming into Sunday’s game, the 24-year-old Mella was 0-6 with a 5.16 ERA at home in 13 appearances. But over his last three starts, Mella has allowed just four earned runs in 18 innings for a 2.00 ERA and struck out 17. For the season, Mella is 3-10 with a 4.46 ERA.
Kelly said Mella has worked with Blue Wahoos pitching coach Danny Darwin on his delivery.
“He’s thrown good the last few games,” Kelly said. “He’s a lot more consistent. His slider is better and he’s throwing more strikes.”
But Mississippi went ahead, 3-2, on Moore’s two-run double off Pensacola closer Carlos Gonzalez. Braves third baseman Austin Riley then singled to right field to score Moore for a 4-2 lead. Riley scored on a Gonzalez wild pitch for the final margin of victory, 5-2.
Pensacola did take a 2-0 lead with both runs coming off Mike Soroka who is 11-8 with a 2.80 ERA for Mississippi.
Pensacola left fielder Gabriel Guerrero scored in the first inning of Sunday’s game on a single to center field by first baseman Gavin LaValley to take a 1-0 lead and to snap its streak of failing to score for 21 innings. The Blue Wahoos last scored against the Jackson Generals in the sixth inning Thursday.
It lost the first two games to the Mississippi Braves, 1-0, and, 5-0. The last time the Blue Wahoos were shutout in back-to-back games was in losses, 1-0, to both the Biloxi Shuckers and the Jackson Generals April 21 and 22 last season.
Pensacola scored its second run of the game in the sixth inning when shortstop Blake Trahan laid down a safety squeeze that scored center fielder Jonathan Reynoso from third to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 2-0.
Trahan was 3-for-3 with one RBI in Sunday’s game and led off the ninth for the Blue Wahoos with a double into the left field corner. In two games against Mississippi, the shortstop is 5-7.
“To me that was a great accomplishment on the safety squeeze by Trahan,” Kelly said. “He’s swinging the bat good.”
Mississippi finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning when second baseman Travis Demeritte singled off Pensacola reliever Robert Stock to drive in Moore to pull the Braves within, 2-1. Moore led the Braves offense going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Pensacola won the first half guaranteeing the team a spot in the Southern Division playoffs. It was a Southern League record fourth straight half title, tying them with the Tennessee Smokies, which did it between 2009 and 2011.
In the second half, the Blue Wahoos are sitting in fourth place at 28-34 with eight games left this season. The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp lost to Biloxi 10-5 Sunday and are 35-27 in the Southern Division and in first place, seven games ahead of Pensacola.
Photos courtesy Barrett McClean Photography/Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Beats Blacksher
August 26, 2017
The Northview Chiefs opened their 2017 regular season at home with a 14-7 win over the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs.
“It was a hard fought physical game. Two physical football teams, two disciplined football teams, two hard-nosed football teams,” Northview head coach Dereck Marshman said. “It really came down to we just had a six minute ball possession drive. Defense played lights out, offense was just a step or two away from really blowing this thing out. We had a touchdown on a string and it was out of his hands and they picked it off and returned it and that’s what they scored on. We had two hard-nosed football teams, two physical football teams, two young football teams that fought to the end.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Marshman said he was mostly pleased with Northview’s performance Friday night in Bratt.
“I think (we need to improve on) just execution of little things, like I said we dropped a pass, we ran wrong a couple of times, but overall we’ve just got to continue improving each week on all our positions.”
After a back and forth battle the teams remained scoreless until the second quarter when the Chiefs scored on a four-yard run from Seth Killam. With a 2-point conversion pass to Tim Bush, Northview was up 8-0 heading into half time.
Then with 3:33 to go in the third quarter, Killiam was in from 33 yards out to make it 14-0. Blacksher answered with a touchdown for a 14-7 score. The Chiefs ended the game with a drive that lasted just over six minutes to end the game.
Next week at 7:00, the Northview Chiefs will host the Escambia Academy Cougars from just up the road in Canoe, AL.
“Next week is going to be a big game, Marshman said. “I haven’t really thought about it yet. They run a good program over there. It’s going to be challenging. They have great skilled athletes so we will have to see how we respond to that.”
For a photo gallery, click here. Cheerleader and band photos will be published by Monday.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Aggies Roll Over Choctaw
August 26, 2017
The Tate Aggies beat Choctaw on the road Friday night, 49-21.
Choctaw took an early 7-0 lead with a touchdown on their opening drive. But the Aggies answered quickly with a touchdown from Shermari Jones to make it 7-7.
Junior quarterback Hunter Riggan found Alex Jones with a touchdown pass from near midfield, 14-7 Aggies. After another TD for a 21-7 score, Riggan was in on a QB-keeper for a 28-7 Aggie advantage. Tate advanced to 35-7 with a touchdown pass to senior Alex Young.
Up 42-21 at the half, Tate pulled most starters out in the second half as they went on to earn a solid 49-21 win.
Riggan had 252 offensive yards in the first half with 71 rushing for two touchdowns and 181 yards in the air for two more touchdowns.
The Aggies (1-0) will take on West Florida next Friday night at 7:00 at the Jaguars’ home turf at Woodham Middle School.
High School Football Scores
August 26, 2017
Here are area high school football scores:
Thursday, August 24
West Florida 42 Escambia 20
Friday, August 25
FLORIDA
Northview 14 J.U. Blacksher 7 [Read more...]
Tate 49 Choctaw 21 [Read more...]
Flomaton 36 Jay 7
Pine Forest 41, Pensacola 0
Washington 46, Milton 25
Navarre 56, Catholic 35
Gulf Breeze 36, Pascagoula 0
Fort Walton Beach 31, Pace 27
ALABAMA
Flomaton 36 Jay 7
B.C. Rain (Mobile) 34 Escambia County (Atmore) 18
Escambia Academy 42 Resurrection Catholic 21
TR Miller 41 Washington County 0
WS Neal 21 South Choctaw 6
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Wahoos Lose One-Run Game To Jackson
August 25, 2017
Down one run to the Jackson Generals, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos had runners in scoring position in both the eighth and ninth innings but failed to advance them home.
Pensacola starter Jose Reyes gave up just two hits to Jackson but both led to runs and the Generals defeated the Blue Wahoos, 2-1, in front of 4,010 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The final game of the series Friday decides which team wins it, and Pensacola is seeking its 400th win in the franchise’s six-year history. The Blue Wahoos have won eight of 11 homestands this season.
“We’ve played well the whole series but a couple of one-run losses have been the difference,” said Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly.
Pensacola fell to 20-27 in one-run games this season.
Jackson scored first in the second inning when right fielder Kelly Dugan belted a line drive solo home run to left center. His 13th homer of the season gave the Generals a 1-0 lead.
In the third inning, Jackson added another run to go ahead, 2-0, when shortstop Vladimir Frias walked, stole second base and scored on a ground ball up the middle by center fielder Victor Reyes.
Pensacola got on the scoreboard in the sixth inning when left fielder Gabriel Guerrero, who won the All-Star Home Run Derby, smashed his seventh homer of the year to deep right center with two outs to trail Jackson, 2-1. All his homers have come in the second half.
Guerrero extended his franchise record for hits to 132 and is batting .284 on the year.
“That’s a long way in this ballpark,” Kelly said. “He’s hit the ball hard all year. I don’t think he’s changed his swing at all.”
In the eighth inning, Pensacola had runners on first and third with Jackson reliever Andury Acevedo walking two and throwing a wild pitch but he got Guerrero to ground out into a double play to end the scoring threat.
In the ninth, again the Blue Wahoos put runners on first and second with one out but Jackson reliever Joey Krehbiel struck out Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino and catcher Chad Tromp popped up to first base to end the inning and earn his third save.
“We had good chances with good RBI guys at the plate,” Kelly said. “They just made good pitches.”
Both starters bounced back from poor outings in their previous starts. The Mississippi Braves knocked Reyes out of the game after three innings when he gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. Against Jackson, the Blue Wahoos righty worked six innings giving up two runs on two hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Reyes benefited from the Blue Wahoos defense turning two double plays that helped him face one over the minimum 12 batters in his last three innings.
Meanwhile, Alex Young lasted five innings, giving up seven runs, three earned on nine hits and two walks, while striking out six against the Biloxi Shuckers. However, the southpaw worked six innings Thursday against Pensacola and gave up one run on five hits and a walk and struck out six.
After giving up two singles in the first inning, Young with the help of a double play and a pick off got the next 15 Blue Wahoos batters out before Guerrero tagged him in the sixth.
The Blue Wahoos are in the hunt this season to win the Southern Division for a Southern League record fifth straight time at 28-31 and just 4.5 games behind the front-runner Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who Pensacola plays to end the season.
Photos courtesy Barrett McClean Photography/Blue Wahoos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlage.
Wahoos Take Series Lead Over The Generals
August 24, 2017
Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson admittedly has struggled at the plate this season but drilled a two-out, two-run double to left field to help the Blue Wahoos rally for a 4-3 lead in the fourth inning.
Hudson’s clutch hit and the Pensacola bullpen led the Blue Wahoos to a 9-3 victory Wednesday over the Jackson Generals at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Pensacola leads the series, 2-1.
Hudson knows hitting .177 is not what he wanted to do this season. But the 26-year-old catcher is 5-for-11, or .455, against the Generals pitching this year.
“Getting a hit is a blessing for a guy like me,” Hudson said. “Taking care of the pitchers is the main take away for me.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said Hudson’s average is deceiving.
“Joe has had some big hits for us,” he said. “He’s hit very well against Jackson.”
Jackson starter Frank Duncan was three outs shy of a nine-inning no-hitter in his last game against the Biloxi Shuckers. The big right hander then had a perfect game for 3.1 innings Wednesday against Pensacola.
“I was just hoping we didn’t get no-hit,” Kelly said.
That’s when the Blue Wahoos, trailing Jackson, 3-0, rallied for four runs in the fourth inning.
Pensacola center fielder broke up Duncan’s perfect game with a hard-hit line drive to center field. With the bases loaded and one out, first baseman Gavin LaValley smoked a grounder that bounced off the third base umpire, scoring Guerrero with Pensacola’s first run.
Blue Wahoos right fielder Aristides Aquino hit a bouncer to Jackson shortstop Galli Cribbs who tagged left fielder Josh VanMeter for the second out of the inning and fired to first but Aquino beat the throw. Senzel scored on the play and Pensacola trailed Jackson, 3-2.
With runners on first and second, Hudson doubled in both LaValley and Aquino to complete the comeback, giving Pensacola a 4-3 lead.
Jackson had jumped on Pensacola starter Austin Ross in the second inning, scoring three runs to go ahead, 3-0. It seemed like an insurmountable lead with Pensacola averaging 1.75 runs in its previous four games.
Ross is slowly returning to form after spending a month on the disabled list for shoulder tightness. In four starts the right hander has pitched 14.2 innings, allowed six earned runs, walked two for a 3.68 ERA and earned the win Wednesday. On the season, the 28-year-old improved to 8-0 with a 1.81 ERA, which leads the Southern League.
The franchise record is Tony Cingrani’s 2.12 ERA in Pensacola’s first season in 2012.
Kelly said he is still treating Ross as a rehab pitcher.
“We were concerned in that second inning about overextending him,” Kelly said. “His experience really helped out. He was one out away from finishing the fifth and getting the win.”
The first three Jackson batters reached base in the second inning when right fielder Kelly Dugan lined a single to center field. Jackson second baseman Vladimir Frias doubled off the wall in right center. And then, Generals shortstop Galli Cribbs, hitting 8th in the batting order and batting .197 on the season, doubled into the left field corner to score both Dugan and Frias. Cribbs then scored the third run for Jackson on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Emilio Bonifacio.
But relievers Robert Stock, Nefi Ogando and Andrew McKirahan combined to toss 4.1 scoreless innings on threeX hits, no walks and oneX strikeout.
Also leading Pensacola’s nine-run parade was Gavin LaValley, who had his first four-RBI game in Double-A, going 3-4 with a double and scoring a run. LaValley has three other four-RBI games in and a career high five RBIs on Sept. 4, 2016.
Additionally, Blue Wahoos center fielder Gabriel Guerrero increased his franchise record for hits to 131, going 2-5 with a double, run scored and RBI. Ryan LaMarre owned the record with 127 in 2012.
Hudson, who played for Pensacola last season, really wants another crack at playing in the playoffs.
“We’ve established a precedent of winning here in Pensacola,” Hudson said. “It’s hard playing regular season games when we know already we’re in the playoffs. Last year was a sour ending. I thought we were better than that Mississippi (Braves) team.”
Pensacola tied the Tennessee Smokies for the Southern League record of winning four straight halves. Tennessee did it from 2009 to 2011. The Blue Wahoos are in the hunt this season to win the Southern Division a fifth straight time at 28-30 and just 3.5 games behind the front-runner Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp.
Kelly is already resting up his everyday players and arranging his rotation so Deck McGuire, Jose Lopez and Ross can pitch the first three games of the Southern Division playoffs.
“We’ve had a big turnover player wise, but we’ve had good pitching and play good defense. We haven’t been an offensive juggernaut any of the past three years.”