It’s barely past mid-September, but the upcoming games on Sept. 19 mark the midpoint of the season in Florida high school football. Hard to believe, right?
But this is a prep football — the regular season will end on Oct. 24 for most of the smaller teams in the state and on Halloween for the rest of the teams.
In our corner of the state, Milton football − with its turnaround season − remains the only unbeaten team. Three schools this week will have bye weeks.
Andalusia (Ala.) (3-1) at Pace (2-1)
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Patriot Stadium.
Last meeting: 2024 — Pace 42, Andalusia 14.
Key players: Andalusia QB Noah Curry, RB Zerrick Jones, WR Jordyn Skanes, CB/FS Neillex Ferrell; Pace RB Makael Williams, QB Brooks Washington, OG Grant Wise, LB Bowen Iorg.
Quick look: The Patriots are coming off a bye week. Andalusia is ranked No. 8 by MaxPreps among Alabama’s Class 5A teams, No. 46 across all classifications in Alabama. Pace has scored 15 touchdowns in three games — 12 of those by Williams to underscore his impact. Curry has passed for 391 yards and seven TDs with only one interception and Jones has 470 yards rushing, averaging 9.2 yards per carry and five TDs. This will be a good challenge for the Pace defense.
Pensacola Catholic (3-1) at Jacksonville Providence School (1-3)
When: 6 p.m. Central
Where: Providence Field, Jacksonville,
Last Meeting: Unknown.
Key players: Providence RB Caden Jones, WR Jake Conter, QB Hans Price, OLB Jayden Jablonski; Catholic QB Jaylin Brown, WR Caden Jasso, RB Caleb Willoughby, DB Jayden Coleman.
Quick Look: This may be the first matchup between these teams. The Crusaders will leave Friday morning for a six-hour bus trip to Jacksonville for this non-district game. Providence has played a difficult schedule, reflected by its record. Jones has been the team’s top rusher with 281 yards rushing and three scores. Conter has 291 yards passing, three touchdowns and 17 solo tackles. Jasso has 331 yards in receptions and six touchdowns. Brown has thrown 10 TD passes and rushed for four scores.
Navarre (0-3) at Milton (4-0)
When: Friday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Haywood Hanna Panther Stadium.
Last meeting: 2024 — Navarre 15, Milton 13.
Key players: Navarre QB Roman Marshall, WR Marquez Wright, WR Brody Powers, CB Jayden Jones; Milton QB Kaiden Hall, RB Kayle Paul, OLB/FS Mario Hayes, LB Mathew McDonald, DT Aiden Spratt.
Quick look: The Panthers look to continue this remarkable turnaround season against a struggling Navarre team. The Raiders, who have scored just two touchdowns in the last two games, are coming off the 3-0 loss to Tate. Marshall has passed for 556 yards and five touchdowns. His top target has been Wright, who has 18 catches and two scores. Milton’s defensive trio of Spratt, Hayes and McDonald have combined for 115 tackles this season. Spratt has 24 solo stops, 25 assists, 7 tackles for lost yards. Should be another terrific atmosphere in Milton.
West Florida (3-1) at Tate (3-1)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Pete Gindl Stadium.
Last meeting: 2024 — Tate 42, West Florida 7.
Key players: West Florida LB Ashton Caldwell, DT Cayden McNeil, QB Xavier Finley, RB Charles Benson; Tate WR Elijah West, RB Tanner Clark, QB Miles Delarosa, MLB Brody White.
Quick look: This is the top Pensacola matchup of Week 5. The Aggies were stymied last week by Milton’s defense, but Delarosa, a sophomore, has thrown for 450 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions and has an impressive QB rating of 134.6. Senior receivers West and Laquarius Bradford both have 10 receptions so far this season. West has 270 yards and five TDs. White has 29 solo tackles, three for a loss. West Florida has played Finley, a senior, and sophomore Joseph Soho at QB. Benson has been the top offensive threat with 298 yards gained and seven touchdowns.
Booker T. Washington (2-1) at Gulf Breeze (0-3)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Dolphin Stadium.
Last meeting: 2024 — Washington 16, Gulf Breeze 6.
Key players: Washington QB Trae Townsend, RB Da’Sean Bohanan, FS/CB Darius Stallworth, WR Gionni Lewis; Gulf Breeze — WR Troy Matlock, WR Caleb Carter, DB Cooper Allison, LB Jaxson Rich.
Quick look: The Wildcats are a play away from being unbeaten. The big issue has been consistency on offense, where mistakes have bogged down potential scoring drives. The defense has been led by Stallworth (38 tackles, 27 solo). Townsend has thrown for 559 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 71 yards in three games and a score. Bohanan has impressed with 317 yards and three TDs. The Dolphins hope to get their offense on track after scoring just 25 points over the last three games. This game is homecoming night for Gulf Breeze, so it promises to be a big crowd and atmosphere.
Panama City Mosley (3-1) at Escambia (0-3)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Smith Field.
Last meeting: 2024 — Mosley 38, Escambia 13.
Key Players: Mosley QB JP Holsombake, RB Samuel Chisolm, LB-RB Will Arboleda, WR Adam Land; Escambia RB James Simpson, WR Cashon Downs, RB Jaquez Luttley, LB Danield McDaniel.
Quick look: It has been a difficult start for longtime, ultra-successful coach Mike Bennett. The Gators have played solid defense, but the offense has been unable to sustain drives and score. Mosley presents quite a challenge with Holsombake, one of the premier quarterbacks throughout the Florida Panhandle. He has competed 66 of 88 passes for 925 yards, 13 touchdowns and one interception for a QB rating of 143.2. Three different receivers have more than 200 yards in receptions and four receivers have multiple TD grabs. The Gators’ top threat is Downs, who has 13 catches for 215 yards and a score.
Holmes County (1-3) at Northview (1-3)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium.
Last meeting: 2024 — Holmes County 34, Northview 27.
Key players: Holmes County RB Bowden Bailey, RB Zarius Goodman, CB Landon Weeks, QB Egan Segers; Northview WR/CB Nate Duffy, LB-TE Sam Reid, RB-CB Jeremy Thomas.
Quick look: Duffy leads the Chiefs with 572 rushing yards, a 9.9 per-carry average and has nine of the Chiefs’ 14 touchdowns, eight on the ground. Sophomore runner Hunter Parker has 115 yards on 20 carries in four games. Freshman Tyson Phifer has emerged with 177 yards and two touchdowns of just eight carries. Segers has two rushing touchdowns, two passing scores for Holmes County. Bailey has three rushing TDs and he also leads in tackles per game and has a fumble recovery.
Jay (1-2) at Chipley (4-0)
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Philip Rountree Stadium, Chipley.
Last Meeting: 2024 — Jay 23, Chipley 13.
Key players: Jay RB Jaymes Youngblood, QB Jaylin Youngblood, DE Nick Baxley.
Quick look: Chipley is ranked No. 12 in Florida’s Rural Division, the best among any schools in the Northwest Florida Region, west of Tallahassee-area schools. The Tigers have two wins in which a running clock was needed — a 53-0 win over Linden and 55-0 over Vernon. They opened the season with an impressive 20-7 win against Tallahassee North Florida Christian. Youngblood has 605 rushing yards on 93 carries in three games with six touchdowns for Jay. Baxley has 12 solo tackles, 16 assists in two games.
Bye week
Pine Forest (1-3) has back-to-back bye weeks and will next play at Crestview on Oct. 3.
Pensacola High (1-3) will travel on Sept. 25 to Panama City Bay.
Central (0-4) will next play Rocky Bayou Christian on Sept. 26.
Bill Vilona is a retired Pensacola News Journal sports columnist and now senior writer for Pensacola Blue Wahoos. He can be reached at bvilona@bluewahoos.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola high school football: Tate vs. West Florida; Pensacola Catholic’s long trip
Reporting by Bill Vilona, Special to the News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
