CRESTVIEW — There should be a little extra hop in the steps of Crestview High School football players when the start summer workouts June 15.
Without a doubt Thursday’s spring game with Niceville at Jack Foster Stadium will be what puts that hop in the Bulldogs.
True, it was just a spring game, but for a Crestview football team looking to establish an identity as Coach Tim Hatten starts his third year the 21-7 win over the Eagles was a good start.
Photos of Thursday's Crestview-Niceville spring football game>>>
As Hatten gave his post game talk he pointed to the scoreboard and told the team, “That’s what you can do.”
The Eagles scored first as Deonte Sheffield finished Niceville’s second varsity possession with an 8-yard run with 6:21 left in the third quarter. And while Niceville’s two highly touted players, Eli Stove and Romeo Finley helped the Eagles move the ball it was the Bulldogs making the plays that mattered.
Crestview picked up its first score with about six minutes left in the fourth quarter when quarterback Rusty Moorer threw a 17-yard jump ball pass to Andrew Adkins in the front corner of the west end zone. The 6-foot-3 Adkins showed off his leaping ability as he soared above the Eagle defense for the score.
“I know I’ve got a lot of athletes and I can trust them,” Moorer said. “I know the offense is good now and I’m making the plays I wouldn’t have made last year.”
The Eagles fumbled on their next offensive play and B.A. Larkins recovered the ball for the Bulldogs at the Niceville 36. Aided by a couple of Eagle penalties Crestview was able to march the ball down the field to score the go ahead touchdown.
Lajonte Watson picked up the score from two yards out with 1:39 left in the fourth. Watson was anything but a one-man band on the drive. Antryon Gloster had a couple of nice runs on the drive that allowed the Bulldogs to get inside the Eagle 5-yard line.
Crestview closed out the scoring on an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Mobley.
Mobley credited a higher power for his long touchdown.
“I thank the Lord for it,” he said. “That’s all. I was just praying for it.
“I dropped my first one and I messed up on one play and I was just praying that I would get the ball back.”
The junior varsity teams played to a 7-7 tie. Jaidyn Rodriguez scored on a 70-yard run for the Bulldogs.
Niceville tied things up on a long pass that was tipped as time ran out.
Hatten, who often down plays the importance of spring games, was quick to point out that even a spring game stokes the competitive fires of players and coaches.
“I think all of us are like that (wanting to compete) and we are going to be like that as coaches too,” he said. “We want to win every time we compete.
“We didn’t play well on offense, but we’ve got athletes on the field that can make plays and run plays and turn mistakes into touchdowns. That’s what you’ve got to have.”
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview downs Niceville in spring football game (PHOTOS, VIDEO)