Loss to Crestview made FWB reevaluate itself

By TRAVIS DOWNEY

Florida Freedom Newspapers
(850) 315-4476 | travisd@nwfdailynews.com

FORT WALTON BEACH - Most of the time, a loss is simply a loss - an unfortunate occurrence that teams hope they won't soon experience again.

But for members of the Fort Walton Beach football team, which is in the middle of its preparations for Friday night's Class 4A regional final against Tallahassee Lincoln (9-3) at Steve Riggs Stadium, their 14-13 loss at Crestview earlier this season, a setback that still stands as the lone blemish on the Vikings (10-1) slate, was much more.

Senior lineman T.J. Boyet called it a "wake-up call" while fellow senior receiver Will Wamble referred to the loss as a "humbling" experience.

Vikings coach Mike Owens believes the road loss to Crestview in late October is a big reason why the Vikings find themselves just two wins shy of earning a trip to Orlando for the state championship game in December.

"I think it got our attention," Owens said. "I think maybe it did shape our team into realizing that we have to get ready to play every game and can't take ourselves for granted."

After opening the season the odds-on favorite to win the District 2-4A crown - and do so easily - Fort Walton Beach raced out of the gates, outscoring its opponents by an average score of 40-6 through its first four games.

Northside Christian forfeited in week 5 and Navarre proved to be another one-sided win for the Vikings, who entered that Oct. 24 matchup with Crestview expecting to win handily.

But a funny thing happened - the Vikings didn't win.

Instead, they came away with a last-second, heartbreaking loss that would serve as the catalyst for the more unified and resilient Vikings team that has taken the field since.

 "Had we come down and kicked a field goal and won or had we knocked that (game-winning) pass down and still won a close game, I don't know if it would have had the same effect, really," Owens said. "I think we were a little bit full of ourselves and people were telling us how good we were.

"It helped us prepare."

More specifically, players said it helped the Vikings understand the importance of preparing - both mentally and physically - in the days leading up to Friday night's kickoff.

Where as practice was once viewed as a necessary evil, the hours spent at Steve Riggs Stadium and inside the fieldhouse Monday through Thursday now took on an added significance.

"It made us look at the bigger picture," senior wide receiver J.T. Wortham said. "It really made us realize that we weren't as good as we thought we were. We couldn't just come out every week and turn it on (on Friday night) when we're down.

"We were really more focused in practice knowing that anybody can be beaten at any time."

Perhaps just as important, the loss helped solidify the Vikings' locker room.

"It brought us together," Wamble said. "I'd say at that point we were too worried about being individuals, but that loss brought us together, it strengthened us more than anything."

Now, as the Vikings look to extend the school's longest playoff run since 2004, they each point to that damp night in Crestview as the night everything changed.

"If we wouldn't have been humbled like that, I think we would have been stopped earlier," junior quarterback Luke Barnes said. "We wouldn't have gotten this far in the playoffs."