More than 10 minutes had passed since Jay’s softball team capped off a dominant District 1-1A tournament victory with a celebration that had no shortage of smiles.

Players stood on the infield dirt with family and friends, talking and taking pictures, unable to hide the joy of the moment on a Thursday evening in Bratt.

Tate was kicking dirt on Pace late Thursday night. The burial of the Patriots’ dreams of a third consecutive District 1-6A championship seemed to be nearing completion.

A 6-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh, three outs from a title, it sure did appear as it if would be enough for the Aggies.

Jayden Heavener struck out the last three batters she faced in Wednesday’s District 1-6A softball final against Navarre. A mild celebration followed.

The Patriots smiled. They posed for photos. They high fived and hugged. They huddled up and raised the trophy into the air, savoring the thrill that comes with winning a championship.

Gracie Bonds fired one final pitch across the plate in a game against Tate on the final Friday of April in Cantonment. The batter swung and missed. Game over.

In what has been a difficult year for the Panther softball team, Milton played its best the final week of the regular season, winning consecutive games to push its win total to six.

David Durden is headed to the NFL.

The University of West Florida wide receiver signed an undrafted free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys on April 29.

With the ups and downs of the regular season in the rear-view mirror, area teams now gear up for the district tournament, harboring hopes of playing beyond the first week of May.

Baseball and softball teams from Navarre, Pace, Milton, Jay and Central are all in action this week, starting with opening round action Monday night.

Playing on the road against an unbeaten team in the opening round of the Region 1-2A tournament didn’t bother Pace’s flag football team.

Neither did the fact that the fourth-seeded Patriots trailed fifth-seeded Winter Park by a touchdown after one quarter of play.

In between sets of reps, a group of Pace track athletes are having fun, keeping things light-hearted in practice. 

But when the whistle blows, it’s all business. The Patriots here on a sunny Wednesday afternoon are full go as they shoot off the blocks and sprint hard down the track.

Jackson McDonald heads up a group of regional qualifiers for the Milton Panthers.

McDonald, a senior, is coming off a District 1-3A meet in Fort Walton Beach two weeks ago where he hit a new personal-best mark in the pole vault with a height of 13-feet-3 1/2 inches.

Houston Younce started throwing the discus because of his older brother, who was one of the first to ever throw at Central.

“He did really well and I got into it because of him. And I don’t have to run,” Younce said with a laugh. “I enjoy throwing it.”