Sports Archive

Milton lost in three sets to the powerhouse Dolphins Friday night in Gulf Breeze in a District 1-5A volleyball semifinal.

But the scoreboard only tells part of the story. It doesn’t show the victory the Panthers earned by playing a match a week after Hurricane Isaias ripped through their community, downing trees and power lines, damaging homes and destroying their school’s gymnasium.

Pace’s volleyball team could have folded when it trailed late in the fourth set against the Navarre Raiders in the District 1-6A title match Thursday night.

But the Patriots kept fighting, kept hanging around, and at one point, they got within 24-23, reviving hope of forcing a fifth and decisive set.

After two weeks of no Friday Night Lights because of Hurricane Isaias and its aftermath, football will be back next week for high school teams in Santa Rosa County.

But the schedule is going to look a little different than it did prior to the storm, which hit the area hard on Oct. 9.

Although there hasn’t been football for two weeks in Santa Rosa County, the FHSAA regional rankings continue to be updated.

Loghan Goodwin has a lot of memories of playing basketball in the Panther Den.

But her senior season with the girls basketball team at Milton is set to be played everywhere but on the Panthers’ home floor after the gym was destroyed Hurricane Isaias, which struck the area on Oct. 9, leaving the gym looking as if a bomb hit it.

While schools in Santa Rosa County School won’t reopen until Monday due to the damage caused by Hurricane Isaias, an exception is being made for volleyball teams in the area.

District tournaments will be allowed to move forward this week. No other sports are allowed to be in action until schools open on Monday.

Darby Godwin and her senior teammates have been talking for a long time about a special year for the Jay volleyball team.

And 2026 has been special so far, with the Royals ranked No. 1 in the state and playing in the Rural Region 1 tournament starting on Saturday.

District volleyball tournaments in the area are set to begin on Monday.

Jay and Navarre are both top seeds in their respective tournaments, with the Royals on top in Rural District 1 and the Raiders atop District 1-6A.

The University of West Florida football team isn’t playing Saturday after its game was canceled due to Hurricane Isaias.

The Argos were scheduled to take on Northeastern State out of Oklahoma at Darrell Gooden Stadium in what would have been their first home game of October.

Central and L.E.A.D. Academy squared off for the second time this season last Tuesday night.

And for the second time this year, the Jaguars came out on top in the match, winning in three sets.