Thirty-two minutes of intensity, energy, big shots, excitement, all-out effort and physical play highlighted a girls basketball rivalry between Jay and Pace that never disappoints.
Forget about the Rural and 6A distinction that the Royals and Patriots are, respectively. It doesn’t matter. This game Monday night in a raucous gym in Pace was a battle between two teams fighting for a big win, playing as if a trophy was on the line.
Trent Moye got to his senior year of high school at Central and started feeling like maybe college hoops was a possibility.
Four years later, the former Jaguar no doubt made the right decision as he’s become a standout player for the University of Mobile Rams.
Bree Stankard will soon be back on the track, competing in that sport one final time at Pace.
For now, she’s on the soccer field for the Patriots, and she notes playing two sports that involve a lot of running has proven beneficial.
Two Pace athletes signed letters of intent on Wednesday in the school’s media center.
Alyssa Clark is taking her running talents to Bushnell, an NAIA school in Oregon, while Lana Gonzales is headed to NCAA Division III Huntingdon to continue her softball career.
Pace grad Jayden Heavener is already earning recognition, and her first season of college softball at LSU hasn’t even started yet.
Heavener has been named one of the best 100 players in the country by Softball America.
Talking about the record of Pace’s girls soccer team on paper doesn’t tell the whole story.
Yes, the Patriots have just three wins in 12 games, but their schedule has been grueling to say the least, with no shortage of area powerhouses on it.
The Pace Patriot boys soccer team had only one win going into its senior night showdown with North Bay Haven Tuesday night, making it the underdog.
But games are played on the field, not on paper, and the Patriots wrote a success story on a chilly January evening at home, knocking off the Buccaneers 4-3.
Pace’s girls basketball team had just watched its double-digit lead shrink to six and now needed to do enough down the stretch to secure a victory over rival Navarre Tuesday night at home.
The Patriots did just that, notching a 43-35 victory in a District 1-6A battle.
Jackie Ruffini is the lone senior on this year’s Milton girls soccer team and was recognized prior to the Panthers’ game against Pine Forest on Monday night.
Hayden Morris is currently in the midst of basketball season with the Jay Royals, and soon enough he’ll be back on field playing baseball for the reigning 1A state champions.
Last fall, he was named the District 1 Rural Player of the Year in Florida after shining on the football field for the Royals as a quarterback and safety.
