THURSDAY, AUGUST 303, 2018
NAVARRE PRESS / 5C
Volleyball
Ciara Cathey goes high to hit a hard shot past the Vikings.
Photos by John Richardson
Raider volleyball team refuses to quit By John Richardson editor@navarrepress.com
Mary Beloat goes high for a point against Milton
four straight points to take an 8-4 lead. Walls and Tessa Hendricks led a comeback, tallying two kills apiece to tie the game at 8-8. After a timeout, the Panthers scored another four points, giving them a 12-8 lead. Hendricks brought the Raiders back scoring a kill and two service aces and the The Navarre Raiders volleyball team game was tied at 12-12. After a Raider net serve and another unforced error, the has only played two matches and Panthers took a 23-19 lead. On the next possession, the Panthers put the game is quickly winning fans. Every away 25-19 and went up 2-0 in the match. game is close, and the playThe Raiders were down by two games but refused to ers are leaving plenty of Navarre 23, 19, 24, fold. Samantha MacFarland served the first five points skin on the floor. Milton 25, 25, 26 of the game. The Panthers were hungry for the win and Navarre began the chipped away at the Raider lead. The Raiders trailed by regular season play Navarre 7, 22, 23 one when Hendricks made a timely kill, making the with a pair of tough Fort Walton 25, 25, 25 score 16-14. The Raiders lost the lead, but Walls had a losses against Milton kill bringing the two teams even at 18-18. and Fort Walton Beach. Alex Rebber had another kill, which tied the game at 20-20. The score changed However, the Raiders did not hands twice more on kills by Walls and Hendricks. The Raiders were called for a carmake it easy on ry for the last two points and the Panthers came away their opponent, takwith a 26-24 win. ing both sets down to the The Raiders traveled to Fort Walton Beach last Thurswire. day. The Panthers took an early lead The first game against the Vikings was over soon afin the first game on Aug. 21 at ter the first whistle. The only Raider highlights in that Milton. However, the Raiders tied first game were aces scored by MacFarland and Rebber up the game at 4-4 on a block at the and kills by McGee and Lily Trujillo. The Vikings dominet by Aubrey Walls, followed by a nated the contest, winning 25-7. dink over the outstretched arms of the In the second game, the Panthers had a one-point Panther front line. lead when Ciara Cathey tied the game with an ace. The Panthers ran off three straight points for Later, trailing the Panthers 10-8, Hendricks had a a 7-3 lead. block and a kill, Rebber had an ace and Cathey blocked However, when the Raiders pulled to within a a shot. Suddenly, the Raiders led 12 – 10. The Panthers point of the Panthers, thanks to three service points rallied back and led 22 – 20. Hendricks and Haytack by Walls, Milton called for a timeout to stop Navarre’s each had a kill to tie the game. However, the Vikings momentum. scored the last three points for the win. The two teams traded points until the Raiders called for The third game brought the crowd to their feet. Hard a timeout with the Panthers leading 18-14. serves and long rallies dominated play. Every play at the After the timeout, the Raiders roared back. Abby Nebarez net was contested. TheViking student body chants were had a block at the net. Hayley McGee had a kill and Meamatched by the Raider fans. Again, the Vikings won a gan Haytack added a block and a kill as the Raiders tied the hard-fought game, 25 – 23. game at 23-23. Navarre played at home against Pace Tuesday But the Raiders could not keep the momentum going and the and is scheduled to host Gulf Breeze tonight in a Panthers won the last two points and the game. 6:30 p.m. match. The second game was tied at 4-4 when the Panthers ran off Lily Truijillo goas high for a kill against Milton
Argos Rewind: UWF falls short of national title Tonight, the University of West Florida football team will open its 2018 season at home against Carson-Newman. The Argonauts are coming off a historic season, reaching the national championship game in their second year. The Navarre Press takes a look back at last year’s biggest moments. A postseason run for the ages came to an end in the NCAA Division II national title game in Kansas City. UWF lost 37-28 to Texas A&M Commerce in its first ever appearance in the championship game and ended the year with an 11-4 record. The Argos fell behind 14-7 after one quarter of play and were down 2014 at halftime. They were unable to overcome the play of Harlon Hill winner Luis Perez, who threw for 323 yards and two touchdowns. The Argos trailed by as many as 17 points but never stopped battling. They finished with 276 yards, including a season-low 24 rushing yards. Mike Beaudry threw for
252 yards. He completed 22 of his 48 pass attempts and threw one touchdown pass on a day when the pressure of the Lions was tough to overcome. Beaudry was sacked five times. Antoine Griffin led the way offensively, catching eight passes for 112 yards. He also picked off a pass for the first time in his career when the Lions tried a fake punt attempt in the first quarter. Unranked and up against the eighth-ranked team in the nation, the Argos tied the score at 7-7 in the opening quarter on a 1-yard run by Chris Schwarz. Beaudry’s 20-yard touchdown toss to Griffin right before halftime cut the A&M
lead to 20-14. Jonathan Coleman led the defense with 14 tackles. It marked the third time in the last five games that he had recorded 10 or more tackles in a game. UWF allowed 477 yards. The Argos finished the season 11-4 after winning just five games in their inaugural season. Did You Know? Coleman ranked fourth on the team in tackles last season, coming through with 80. He recorded 8.5 sacks as well. He was one of five players to record 70 or more tackles last season for a defense that had allowed just 52 points in the four postseason games leading up to the showdown for the title.
Game Time: UWF and Carson-Newman will square off Aug. 30 at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola. Kickoff is set for 7 pm. The two teams will be meeting for the first time and both are ranked nationally, with the Argos checking in at No. 2 and the Eagles checking in at No. 22. The Eagles’ top two running backs, Antonio Wimbush and Marcus Williams, both suffered ACL tears last season but are healthy and ready to play again. Wimbush rushed for 149 yards last year before the injury. He rolled up 941 yards and nine touchdowns in 2016. Williams came through with 127 yards and two touchdowns before his injury in the third week of the season.