What makes a great high school football rivalry?
In my opinion, crafted through covering programs on the Emerald Coast for a 15th straight year, rivalries must possess three things to be legitimate: parity, trash talk and gravitas. Gravitas as in, is it deciding districts or altering playoff outlooks?
“The Game,” the annual city meeting between Fort Walton Beach and Choctaw, certainly checks off a few boxes considering the bragging rights and history of the Panhandle’s oldest rivalry. Choctaw, with four straight region finals appearances, has held up its end of the bargain in adding to the gravitas narrative.
But where does “The Game” rank among our top rivalries on the Emerald Coast? It’s certainly up there, but not No. 1. Agree or disagree? Share your opinion by voting below. The poll will run through noon Friday.
1. Crestview-Niceville
2025 result: Crestview 32, Niceville 28 at Eagle Stadium
Last five matchups: Niceville has 3-2 advantage
2026 matchup: Oct. 16, at Crestview
Who else? No area rivalry has featured more hate (anyone remember “Us vs. The Recruiters” T-shirts Crestview’s student section wore to Eagle Stadium in 2021?), more parity, more down-to-the-wire contests than the two Okaloosa County rivals.
In the last five matchups, three have been decided by a single possession with Niceville holding a 139-102 edge in points in those contests. Crestview, though, drew last blood in a 32-28 win last year at Eagle Stadium it trailed 28-7 at halftime. Even though the teams are separated by classes (Bulldogs in 6A and Eagles in 5A), don’t be mistaken: The stakes are always high when these two meet. Circle that Oct. 16 matchup on your calendar. Jack Foster Stradium is going to be rocking.
2. Choctaw-Niceville
2025 result: Choctaw 42, Niceville 7 at Eagle Stadium
Last five matchups: Niceville has 4-1 advantage
2026 matchup: Sept. 18, at Choctaw
Before last year, it was a stretch to even label this a rivalry. After all, Choctaw had lost 13 straight to the Eagles. Then Choctaw walked into Eagle Stadium on Sept. 19 and made a statement with a 42-7 running-clock win. Now we have two programs with Final 4 trips in the last two seasons, Choctaw coming off a 12-2 campaign and Niceville rejuvenated with the hire of alumnus Adron Robinson.
The Eagles return a dynamic QB-RB duo in Deagan McCoy and Jakobe Gilyard and a dominant front-seven on defense, while the Big Green brought in two gifted QBs in Isaiah Collins and Baker Giles and have reloaded defensively after losing seven or eight starters. An early-season clash in September isn’t must-win for either program, but it could be our Game of the Year.
3. Choctaw-FWB
2025 result: Choctaw 42, FWB 3 at Steve Riggs Stadium
Last five matchups: Choctaw holds 5-0 advantage
2026 Matchup: Oct. 9, at Joe Etheredge Stadium
In 2012, the two programs were deadlocked at 21-21 in the Panhandle’s oldest rivalry. Ever since, Choctaw has gone 12-1 and won the past five contests by a combined 208-22 margin. Even so, last year’s 42-3 win by the Big Green was a bit misleading considering FWB led 3-0 in the second quarter. Student sections battled at a sold-out Steve Riggs Stadium and, for a brief moment, parity returned to the district rivalry. Josh Pulliam has the Vikings on the right path to bidding for their first above-.500 campaign since 2012, while Frank Beasley has the Big Green confident it can return to a fifth straight region championship appearance and a repeat Final 4 bid.
4. Mosley-Niceville
2025 result: Mosley 42, Niceville 36 (OT) at Eagle Stadium
Last five matchups: Mosley holds 3-2 advantage with three straight wins
2026 Matchup: Mosley 42, Niceville 36
Tommy Joe Whiddon’s Dolphins have become a thorn in Niceville’s side. What started with a 29-28 victory in 2023 has morphed into a three-game win streak over the Eagles, who have watched the Dolphins celebrate three straight district titles at their expense. That includes a heartbreaking 42-36 overtime loss last year at Eagle Stadium, which oddly wasn’t at full capacity on a Thursday despite the game deciding the district champ.
Under Whiddon, Mosley has treated Niceville like a bowl game by having an open Friday the week prior to their matchup for four straight seasons (that ends this year). Validating that approach, Whiddon is 3-1 versus his alma mater, with the lone loss a 28-21 setback in 2022. Niceville, to its credit, promoted an alumnus this offseason who understands the weight of the rivalry. And Robinson can earn some good will by reinstating parity to the rivalry.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Ranking the best HS football rivalries on the Emerald Coast
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News | USA TODAY Network
