CRESTVIEW — With the Florida High School Athletic Association's proposed new football district, Crestview High School’s team is on the move.
The Bulldogs, who have played in District 1-7A the past two seasons, have dropped to District 2-6A. They will be joined in the new district by Choctawhatchee, Fort Walton Beach and Mosley.
The past two years, Crestview, Niceville and Tate have been in District 1-7A. The new District 1-7A will be Niceville, Navarre, Tate, Leon, Lincoln and Chiles.
LARGEST SCHOOL
“It probably gives us a little better chance to be competitive,” said Crestview athletic director and head football Coach Tim Hatten. “That 7A district got a little stronger when they combined the two districts together and throw Navarre in there. Now you’ve got the three Tallahassee schools, and it’s a pretty tough district.
“We’re going to pick up a team (Mosley). I don’t know how long it’s been since we played them. But we are kind of interested in playing some people over there (Bay County).”
With a listed 1,899 students, Crestview will be the new district's largest school. However, with Choctaw and Mosley having qualified for playoffs in 2014, Hatten doesn’t think the Bulldogs will have any real advantage.
“You look at Choctaw, and they have been successful against everybody,” he said. “I’m not sure if it favors us. We are going to play whoever the state tells us to play.
"And whoever they tell us to play, we will play to the best of our ability and see how it shakes out. You’ve still got to beat everybody in your district. You still have to leave this district (in the playoffs) and go west to play people in District 1 in Pensacola, and those guys.”
EFFECT ON SCHEDULE
Hatten said there will probably be some changes in the Bulldog schedule, other than those associated with the new district.
As it stands, he would like to keep the local teams on the schedule.
Hatten said some teams will try to see how they can make the new districts work in their favor.
“Any time reclassification takes place, people are jockeying for this advantage and that advantage," Hatten said.
“I’m not sure there’s a whole lot of advantages to it. But we will play where they put us and see how everything shakes out.”
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Bulldogs head toward District 2-6A