'Nothing surprises me now': Choctaw-Navarre set for Thursday kickoff

Oct. 7--NAVARRE -- Greg Thomas originally likened the 2020 slate as "being thrown into the fire."

More like being thrown into the storm.

At 0-3 with up to 11 contributors missing time due to COVID-19 tracing procedures, Choctaw has had two Friday games moved because of incoming hurricanes.

The first was Sally, that Category 2 hurricane setting the Monday stage for a 56-0 opening-season loss to Niceville at Joe Etheredge Stadium. Then, after losing 40-28 to Crestview at home and 35-28 at Fort Walton Beach, the looming Delta has the Indians moving this week's game at Navarre to Thursday for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

"It's crazy. Nothing surprises me right now," Thomas said. "All we know is we need to play. That's the only way to improve as a team is to keep playing. Every game we've improved and we'll be a better football team after we've played Navarre.

"We're just hoping that late in the fourth quarter we'll have a chance to win."

That'll be a tall task against a 2-0 Raiders crew coming off a 17-7 win at Pace and a 35-21 victory at archrival Gulf Breeze.

"It's a typical Navarre team," Thomas said. "I think they're really good. Defensively they're physical and their D-lineman (Grady Kelly), the kid going to Colorado State, is the best I've seen in a long time. And offensively they execute and their offensive line is dominant."

Against Gulf Breeze (0-2 overall), the Raiders trailed 21-7 early but scored 28 unanswered to secure the victory, tying the game 21-21 before the halftime break and not allowing a point defensively in the second half for the second straight week.

Senior quarterback Jason Deal connected with junior Trent Hall for the game-tying 37-yard scoring strike, senior running back Jaden Rivera punched in the go-ahead score to open the second half and senior running back Tevin Peltier added an insurance touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

"I think the first two games we played really good defense and we defended the run well, which was a huge factor for us," Walls said. "Choctaw has playmakers at every position, so we're just looking to build on what we've done so far.

"Offensively, we've been able to run the ball effectively the first two games even though we've been inconsistent throwing the ball. We always want to be balanced there."

Walls also praised the kicking game, special teams and leadership.

"We're an older team," he said. "Having 40 seniors has helped us early one, but we've still got a lot of room for improvement."

For the Indians, experience has been an issue. Not only is all-area quarterback Ezra McKenna still sidelined after an offseason injury, starting running back Kybert McGlothin, defensive end Derrick Lesiam and guard Lazarus Shockley are out.

"Big, big losses," Thomas said.

Dorian Smith is taking his lumps at quarterback, but Thomas said he's "getting better every week."

"He's the guy we're going to stick with. He's still making a lot of mistakes, but that's not all on him and he's growing into the position," Thomas said.

The offensive mistakes, Thomas said, include missed assignments that have the chains stalling. Thus the defense, allowing 44 points per game, is constantly taxed and has no recovery time.

"We gotta do a better job of keeping the defense off the field," Thomas said.

As for the rivalry, Choctaw and Navarre have a storied past despite not playing last year. Navarre has won the past four matchups, but Choctaw beat the Raiders twice in 2014, including the region semifinals.

"That's one of the few positives of COVID-19 this season -- we ended up getting to play Fort Walton again and Choctaw again," Walls said. "Being able to get them on the schedule with Crestview and Niceville, who we've always played, is something we'd like to get back to."

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