Back on top: Hicks named Coach of the Year

After 10 seasons at the helm of the Niceville football program, each of which has ended with a playoff appearance, John Hicks is well aware of the Eagles’ perceived status as top dog.

“When (a school) goes to hire a football coach, I think one of the things they do is they say, ‘You need to beat Niceville,’” Hicks said. “That’s their goal. They don’t come in and say ‘You got to beat this one or this one, they say ‘You have to come in and beat Niceville.’”

In 2010, Niceville managed to capture a seventh district title in 10 seasons, but was quickly bounced from the playoffs following an alarming 28-7 home loss to an up-start Navarre team in the regional quarterfinals.

Entering the 2011 season, Niceville returned just one offensive starter.

Meanwhile, a newly-configured District 2-6A was formed that mixed district foes of the past – Fort Walton Beach, Crestview and Mosley – with a pair of programs coming off strong seasons and appearing poised for more (Choctawhatchee, Navarre). It all seemed to point towards an end to Niceville’s dominance.

“Going in, everybody thought Navarre was the team to beat,” Hicks recalled.

And yet, the 2011 season ended just as eight of the previous 11 seasons for Hicks – with the Eagles perched atop the heap a district champion.

For his work in guiding Niceville to a ninth district title and its 11th-straight playoff appearance, Hicks has been named the All Sports Association/Daily News big school Coach of the Year.

Asked if this latest district crown was perhaps the sweetest given the general consensus that 2011 campaign could be a difficult one for Niceville, Hicks responded “Absolutely.”

“We understood our strengths were our defense and our kicking game,” Hicks said. “We felt like we could rely on them, not do anything crazy on offense, that we’d be able to be in games and have a chance to win them.”

Hicks pointed to a lop-sided loss to Navarre as the turning point of the season.

“I don’t know if it was a renewed commitment, but just a lot of determination on our defensive coaches’ part to make sure they held up their end,” Hicks said. “It’s a credit to them. They didn’t make any excuses, they just really went to work and it paid off for us.”

In its remaining four district games, the Niceville defense allowed just 10.75 points per game. Niceville won each of those games. Special teams also played a key role. In the Eagles’ win over Choctaw, it was a blocked extra point that sealed the win. Against Mosley, it was a blocked punt that set up the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Two of Niceville’s losses came at the hands of a pair of Alabama powers in Central-Phenix City and Auburn, which were ranked seventh and fifth in Class 6A in the state, respectively, at the time. Through it all, Hicks managed to keep his team’s sites set on getting better each week.

That was the challenge this year,” Hicks said. “We felt like it was going to be hard to have a good record (with our schedule) but to keep the kids believing that we were going to have a good team and a good season. We’ve played some tough schedules, but none like this.

“I thought by the end of the year we were playing really well on both sides of the ball,” Hicks added. “We got better and better.”

Follow Travis Downey on Twitter: @TravisDnwfdn