Preview: Nease Panthers vs. Niceville Eagles
The Nease Panthers will look to defend their home field on Friday against the Niceville Eagles at 6:00 p.m. Keep an eye on the score for this one: the two teams posted some lofty point totals in their previous games.
Nease had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 8 points), and they went ahead and made it three on Friday. Everything went their way against Tocoi Creek as Nease made off with a 47-27 win.
Nease's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Cam Smith, who rushed for 96 yards and four touchdowns, and also picked up 57 receiving yards. Another player making a difference was Kj Perry, who rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns on only 15 carries.
Meanwhile, Niceville stacked a sixth blowout onto their ever-increasing hoard on Friday. They blew past Navarre 63-34 at home. The score was all tied up 28-28 at the break, but Niceville was the (much) better team in the second half.
Niceville had a senior duo take command as Dj Robinson rushed for 162 yards and five touchdowns on only 14 carries and Deangelo "DJ" Shorts rushed for 214 yards and two touchdowns on only ten carries. Shorts' longest rush was for an incredible 71 yards. Caden Bridgeman was another key contributor, picking up 126 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Nease has been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six matches, which provided a nice bump to their 7-3 record this season. As for Niceville, they have yet to lose a match at home this season, leaving them with a 8-2 record.
Nease didn't have too much breathing room in their game against Niceville in their previous meeting back in November of 2021, but they still walked away with a 24-19 win. Will Nease repeat their success, or does Niceville have a new game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.
