CRESTVIEW — It’s now or never for the Crestview High School football team when the Bulldogs host Niceville in a District 1-7A game Friday night at Jack Foster Stadium.
Crestview (2-6, 0-1) needs to pull off an upset of the Eagles (7-1, 1-0) if the Bulldogs are to have any hopes of making the playoffs.
A Bulldog win and Crestview, Niceville and Tate would meet in a shootout Monday to decide who will represent the district in the upcoming playoffs.
Crestview Coach Tim Hatten is hard pressed to find any weaknesses for Niceville on either side of the ball.
“They’re a talented football team in a lot of different areas,” Hatten said. “They are able to run the ball. They are able to throw the ball.
“They play solid defense. They are very well-coached and very well-disciplined. They generally don’t hurt themselves.”
The Bulldogs find themselves in the same position they did last year when they beat Niceville in football for the first time in 30 years to force the shootout.
Hatten is hoping lightning will strike a second time.
“You’ve got to win to extend your season and pretty much play good,” he said. “Last year I think, we forced four or five turnovers. It’s going to take that kind of game for us to be competitive.
“We are going to have to force them out of their comfort zone. We’ve got to play them in a close game.”
In order for the Bulldogs to play Niceville close they must eliminate the mistakes that have hurt them on the offensive side fo the ball.
“We haven’t played good the last couple of weeks for a variety of reasons,” Hatten said. “We’ve had poor execution and we didn’t do a real good job of calling plays the last couple of weeks.
“It has been a team effort, all of it together. We haven’t gotten into a rhythm for two weeks on offense. We have to find a way to get back to being rhythmic the way we were ago against Leon when we lined up in good personnel and groupings and played mistake-free football.”
Hatten continued on the importance of minimizing the mistakes against Niceville.
“You have to be mistake free against almost anybody, but certainly against a team as good as Niceville,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of momentum heading into the playoffs. It’s a big game for them as well as us.
“You can’t give up blocked punts for touchdowns or scoop six fumbles or interceptions for touchdowns. It’s hard enough to beat them controlling the offensive touchdowns they score.”
Hatten hopes the Bulldogs can use the underdog role to their favor.
“We expect to play,” he said. “We really don’t have a whole lot to lose. There’s nobody expecting a whole lot out of us and we have been in this position before.
“It’s probably a lot easier being in our position than it is being in their position.”
UPCOMING
WHAT: High school football, Niceville vs. Crestview
WHEN: 7 p.m. Friday
WHERE: Crestview High School, Jack Foster Stadium
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs host Eagles in must-win game