Blocked PAT helps Niceville hang on to beat Choctaw (SLIDESHOW, VIDEO)

NICEVILLE – Niceville defensive back Kevin Chasteen had seen enough Friday night, and took matters into his own hands to get a big District 2-6A win for the Niceville Eagles.

View a slideshow from the game »

Following a 48-yard touchdown pass from Choctaw quarterback Luke Clark to Max Keefe on fourth and 12, Chasteen lined up for the extra point and after coming so close for weeks, finally got the blocked kick needed to keep the Eagles ahead 14-13 with 1:46 remaining. The Eagles recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock, and Chasteen was the hero for the night.

 “I just knew I didn’t want to go to overtime,” Chasteen said. “I thought we just needed to put them out.

“Once I felt my hand get on the ball I was just like 'that better not go in,' it dropped and I was just like ‘thank god.’”

The Indians just wouldn’t go away, and were led by Clark and wide receiver Devin Borders. Clark finished 18-of-28 for 287 yards and two touchdowns.

Borders was on the receiving end of one of those scores and finished with nine catches for 98 yards.

But the Eagles’ (3-2, 1-1 District 2-6A) ground game was equally effective on the night, led by Jon Hudson, who carried the ball nine times for 101 yards, including a 68-yard run to set-up Niceville’s first score on the night, a 1-yard run by Devin Vazquez that knotted the score at 7-7 after the Andrew Mitchell kick with 6:14 remaining in the second quarter.

Mitchell, the Eagles’ physical quarterback, served mainly as a battering ram on the evening, carrying the ball for 71 yards on 18 carries. He also finished 5-of-9 for 96 yards through the air with a touchdown.

The Eagles go-ahead score came on a 30-yard pass from Mitchell to Tyree McCants that put the Eagles up 14-7 with 4:11 to go in the third. They nearly went ahead by two scores but a fumble inside the Choctaw 5-yard line negated a scoring opportunity on the Eagles’ next drive.

“Some ways I almost felt like we didn’t deserve to win,” Niceville coach John Hicks said. “I thought we really came out in the second half and played the way we should’ve played.”

Choctaw (3-2, 0-1 District 2-6A) took a 7-0 lead on their first drive, converting a fourth-and-4 to set-up a 35-yard touchdown from Clark to Borders with 2:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Choctaw botched a 42 yard field goal attempt early in the game, and Niceville had one blocked as well. But the extra point was the first the Indians have missed this season.

“We had a chance there at the end, to tie it up, maybe go into overtime, just had a tough break there,” Choctaw coach Greg Thomas said.

“Our kids played hard and we just got to circle the wagons and get ready for next week.”