High School

Niceville's rushing attack fuels bounce back win over Navarre

The Eagles rushed for over 400 yards on the ground en route to win No. 8

Andy Villamarzo

NICEVILLE, FLORIDA- It's been a rare occasion for Niceville head coach Grant Thompson to have running backs DJ Robinson and Deangelo 'DJ' Shorts available on the same Friday night this season. 

The latter DJ has battled through injuries and had not seen action since Sep. 29th in which Shorts had just one carry for four yards. Since then it's been a long road back onto the field for Shorts and the senior made up for lost time in his first game back since late September. 

Shorts rushed for a game-high 216 yards and Robinson scored five touchdowns as they together led Niceville to a dominating 63-34 victory over Navarre. Niceville bounced back from last week's district championship loss to Mosley to end the regular season at 8-2 and Navarre falls to 7-3. 

On a night that saw the school announce that longtime public announcer Robert Love would be retiring after 42 years serving the football program, the Eagles saved their best offensive performance for last. 

It wasn't all Niceville (8-2) right from jump street, however, with Navarre striking first in the opening quarter. Raiders' quarterback Hunter Pfiester (11-of-19, 172 yards, three touchdowns) scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, capping a 10-play, 69-yard drive to give Navarre the early 7-0 lead. 

Niceville answered back on the ensuing drive when Robinson (161 yards, five touchdowns) punched it in on a 2-yard plunge to knot the game up at 7-apiece. 

That would prove to be the theme of the opening half as both squads would answer the other's scoring drive. It looked like Niceville would head into halftime with a 28-21 lead when head coach Grant Thompson dove deep into the playbook for a little trickery as wide receiver Maddax Fayard connected with fellow wideout Caden Bridgeman on a 70-yard touchdown pass off an end around. 

The Raiders tied the game up right before intermission when Pfiester threw a slant to wide receiver Terence Marshall (eight catches, 163 yards, three touchdowns), who took care of the rest, going 51 yards to pay dirt. 

Tied up at 28-all at halftime, both teams were looking to come out of halftime to deliver the knockout punch. It would be the Eagles delivering the haymakers throughout the final two quarters. 

Stopping the duo of Robinson and Shorts is going to be a tough ask of any defense come next week and two combined for 477 yards on the ground. Shorts finished the night scoring two touchdowns and his 222 yards came on just 11 touches (20.1 yards per carry).

Robinson scored his third touchdown of the night 19 seconds into the second half, this one a 40-yard burst up the left sideline. The following Navarre possession proved to be the overall difference as Pfiester's pass was deflected and intercepted by linebacker Harper Campbell, giving Niceville the ball right back. 

The Eagles took full advantage and Robinson would waltz into the endzone on a 9-yard sprint untouched, giving Niceville a 42-28 lead. Thompson's club would never look back after getting a 2-possession lead under their belt as Niceville out-scored Navarre 35-6 in the second half. 

Now both teams will await Sunday's Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) playoff bracket reveal in which the association will announce the official postseason brackets for 2023. 

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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sblivefl

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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.

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