Central’s volleyball team ended last season with six consecutive losses, including a regional tourney defeat at the hands of 1A state runner-up Baker.
But with practice in full swing and the season underway, the Jaguars, who only five matches in 2022, are determined to turn things around.
Practice gets rolling for Pace’s volleyball team on a Wednesday night in early August and it doesn’t take long for the intensity and energy to fill the gym as the players scrimmage.
Pace won five more games than it did in 2022, finishing 12-8, and the Patriots are determined to build on that success.
Jan Cupp is back in a familiar role with the Milton volleyball team. She has returned to being the head coach of a program she coached for four years, including the 2020 season when her program won a district championship.
Unity seems to be the thing running through the veins of Milton’s football team.
The Panthers are eager to put a tough 2022 campaign behind them and they know teamwork is going to be critical to achieving that goal.
Brian Watson likes the way the summer went for his Jay football team and believes a much better year is ahead for the Royals, who ended the 2022 campaign on a four-game losing streak.
One word is all Pace’s football team needs for its theme for the season. Vengeance.
It stems from last season’s heartbreaking end, the Patriots leaving everything they had on the field in a 35-34 opening-round loss to eventual regional champion Buchholz on the road.
Milton is determined to right the ship after a 3-7 campaign in 2022, and the Panthers took a step towards that with a 24-7 win over Pensacola in a Kickoff Classic on the road last Friday.
The Panther defense stood out, forcing multiple turnovers. When asked if the defense’s newfound confidence was a point of emphasis over the summer, Gillis said it was.
The Jay Royals got their first taste of action last Friday night as they played in a preseason Kickoff Classic against Lighthouse and Freeport in Gulf Breeze.
The Royals played two quarters against Lighthouse and two against Freeport as they were able to get in one final tune-up ahead of the 2023 season.
After an abrupt end to last year’s season, with the Patriots losing by a point to Buchholz in the first round of playoffs, the Pace Patriots enter this year with their eyes on vengeance.
Their story began Friday night when they hosted Pensacola Catholic in their Kickoff Classic.
Football in the North end of Santa Rosa County gets rolling tonight as area teams take part in their respective Kickoff Classics.
Pace hosts Catholic, Milton travels to Pensacola and Jay welcomes Lighthouse Private Christian Academy into town.
