Prep roundup (Sept. 6): Mosley wins freestyle relay meet

PANAMA CITY BEACH - Saturday's freestyle swim meet at the Panama City Aquatic Center at Frank Brown Park wasn't supposed to be about who could dominate in the pool.

It was intended to be a warmup that allowed five schools to send large contingents of young swimmers, who would all get a shot in the water. However, that didn't mean Mosley couldn't rise above the other squads.

The Dolphins, led by Sara Evans' two individual wins, won the boys, girls and overall titles against country rivals Arnold, Bay and Rutherford, and visiting Fort Walton Beach. And that's while missing nearly a quarter of their team.

"They swam out of their socks," Mosley coach Sue Cottrill said. "They're ready to start competition."

Evans was the top point winner with 40 and led the girls to 458 points, 122½ better than the second-place Vikings. She was also part of the Dolphins' winning 200 and 400 relay teams. Teammate Mary McDermott had the second-most individual points with 37. She won the 500, finished second to Evans in the 200 and was also on the 200 and 400 relay teams.

Mosley's Michael Perdomo won the boys 200 and was part of the second-place 400 relay.

The county schools couldn't keep up with Fort Walton Beach's sprinters, however. The Vikings finished second in the boys, girls and overall standings, led by wins in the 200, the top two spots in the 50, second and third in the 500, top two in the 100, and first and third in the 400 relay.

Mosley stayed ahead by earning points in the fourth- to eighth-place range.

The top county male swimmer was Cody Bronnenberg from Arnold. He won the 500 and finished second to Perdomo in the 200 in 1:53:25, a new school record. Arnold's Katie Branham won the girls 50.

"We had most of our kids swim, if they weren't as good as district or regional times, they were better," Arnold coach Rock Snow said.

Snow said Max White, who swam the 200 in 2:17.05, the 30th-best time Saturday, cut 15 seconds off his personal best. Arnold also set a school record in the 200 relay, in which it finished second. The Marlins' time of 1:48.15 was down from 1:49.49.

"We had the Olympic bug," Snow said. "I think everyone came out with the thought of being the next Michael Phelps."

Rutherford came into Saturday's meet with 20 new swimmers, all of which seemed to improve in the eyes of Coach George Klug. Veteran Alex Martinson was fourth in the girls 50 and sixth in the 500. She was one of the returners who have seen "dramatic decreases this year," Klug pointed out.

"Basically they have swam for the last two weeks," Klug said. "They showed me their athleticism. But we have a way to go before we're competitive at the level required for district."

In her first meet as Bay coach, Sarah Guillot was impressed with her squad. Allison Troia was the top female Tornado, earning 26 points and finishing fourth in the 500.

Bay's Ian McGuire cut 12 seconds off his 100 time and 18 seconds in the 200.

"We had times lowered from almost every swimmer," Guillot said. "We got some kinks out for the future."

• Team standings: 1. Mosley 922.5, 2. Fort Walton Beach 748.5, 3. Arnold 506, 4. Rutherford 176, 5. Bay 103
  Girls: 1. Mosley 458, 2. Fort Walton Beach 325.5, 3. Arnold 270.5, 4. Rutherford 103, 5. Bay 77
  Boys: 1. Mosley 464.5, 2. Fort Walton Beach 423, 3. Arnold 235.5, 4. Rutherford 73, 5. Bay 26
  Race results on Thursday's Prep Page

Football
Eagle Nest 46, John Paul II 0
TALLAHASSEE
Torrez Bouie broke the second play of the game for an 82-yard scoring run and Eagle Nest Christian Academy went on to a big win in its first competition against a Florida High School Athletic Association opponent.

The Eagles won their season debut in just their second year of organized football.

"I told the guys this is huge for us," ENCA coach Mike Walker said. "It's a monumental step. This was a building block for everything we're doing from this point on."
Bouie ran the conversion after his opening score, than tallied on an 18-yard run in the first quarter while finishing with 109 yards on six carries.

Following a conversion pass from quarterback Jonathan Bowser to Martez Mason, Bowser passed 8 yards to Robert Bowen for a touchdown and Bouie ran the conversion. David Hayes then recorded a safety, and when Jabrel Jones ran the ensuing free kick 40 yards for a TD, Bowser's conversion made it 34-0 at halftime.

Devon Guilford caught a 17-yard scoring pass from Bowser and Jakari Edwards scored on an 11-yard run to conclude the onslaught. Guilford had two receptions for 60 yards, Bowser and backup Marcus Barwick combined to complete 7 of 11 passes for 116 yards and John Paul II was limited to 40 total yards of offense.

Walker knows his squad has little time to savor the win considering it basically loses two days of preparation,
one for playing on Saturday and another with the Eagles meeting Class 4A school Rutherford 7 p.m. Thursday at Tommy Oliver Stadium, weather permitting.

"We've got to hit the ground running because we effectively lose those two days this week and we're going against an opponent that out-numbers us and is a top-notch opponent," Walker said.

"A lot of our guys have played with some of those guys before and they know what we have to do to have any measure of success."
Pat McCann

Co-ed soccer
Covenant 3, Central Christian Academy 3
FORT WALTON BEACH
Parker Sheffield scored two goals and Andrew Cummings had one as the Lions tied on a neutral field.

Cummings had an assist on one of Sheffield's goals. The rest were unassisted and all came in the first half. Covenant keeper Grant Sparks had eight saves as the Lions remained undefeated at 1-0-2.

They play Monday at Victory Christian in Sneads.
Josh Weinfuss