Part of the assistant coaching staff, along with the roster on the Escambia High football team have gone through a makeover.
One constant remains, however. The Gators’ defense still looks as solid as ever.
The unit shined in the Gators’ 10-0 win in the first half, varsity portion of Friday night’s Kickoff Classic against Navarre at Emmitt Smith Field. The defense allowed just a handful of first downs in the two quarters and the longest play yielded was a quarterback scramble through the center of the field with receivers blanketed.
“We’re pretty good on defense,” said Escambia coach Mike Bennett with a wry smile and wink. “I think we’re going to be as good as we were last year on defense and I thought we were really good.”
The Gators finished with the first losing record (3-7) in Bennett’s 10 seasons at the helm. The offense averaged just 15.9 points per-game. That aspect put more strain on the EHS defense, which is headed by long-time renowned defensive coordinator Gary Cowart.
Friday night, the Gators defense did not allow a big play and often swarmed the ball-carriers in the backfield for lost yards. The JV defense blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown. That was part of a comeback effort, after the Gators trailed 9-0 in the JV game, but surged to a 22-9 win in the second half of the night.
Cornelius Barge Jr., a towering 6-foot-5 presence and one of three sophomore quarterbacks for Escambia in the preseason game, flashed some downfield passing skills, connecting several times with senior Javontae Grey, who also had a good night as the team’s punter.
“I thought he struggled the first quarter. He missed some easy reads,” Bennett said. “But I thought he came back in the second quarter and played really well. His reads (on throwing to the correct open receiver) were a lot better.
“We got to play a lot of kids. We played three quarterbacks (including the junior varsity game), all sophomores. And I saw some good things out of all them.”
The next challenge is having to wait a week longer before opening the season. The Gators’ opponent for their game on August 21 backed out, pushing the season-opener to August 28 against Pine Forest.
It means Escambia will play just nine games, one less than most peers in the state.
“We’ve got some things we need to work on before (facing Pine Forest), but it’s unfortunate we’re not playing next week,” Bennett said.
Here were takeaways from the preseason game.
Escambia’s Penalty Problem
The Gators started all five of their varsity possessions inside the Navarre 45. But constant pre-snap penalties – false starts, illegal motion, delay of game – thwarted chances for more points.
“We had about 10 illegal procedure penalties (not that many),” said Bennett, his frustration evident. “We got to clean that up. Good thing we have two weeks to do it.”
The Gators junior varsity began their first offensive series with pre-snap penalties on three of the first four attempted plays.
Strength In A Kicking Game
When not catching passes across the middle, Gray was making an impact with his legs.
Each of his punts in the game stopped inside the Gators’ 20.
Placekicker Miciah Matson, another sophomore, had some deep kickoffs and converted a 37-yard field goal to end the varsity portion of the game. In recent seasons, the Gators struggled with punts and generating points from kickers.
“I’m very happy with our kicking game,” Bennett said. “And they are sophomores.
Navarre Defense Up To The Task
The Raiders are trying to return to winning ways, after last year’s 1-9 record.
Their varsity secondary ran step-for-step with Escambia receivers on deep routes and their defensive line didn’t yield many big gains.
Having to defend possessions that began on their side of midfield, the Raiders defense held up well, didn’t commit penalties or too many missed tackles. It was a solid night for Navarre’s defensive unit which hopes to produce an improved record.
The Raiders open their 2026 season in Tallahassee against Florida State University High School.
Still Learning
Escambia had plenty of freshmen on its JV unit that contributed Friday night.
“We have a really good ninth-grade group of kids,” Bennett said. “I’m really excited about that.”
In the varsity portion, the longest running play was senior Jaquez Luttley’s touchdown from inside the 20 in the second quarter.
Bennett liked the fact it was a play-call for a rush through the center of Navarre’s defense. He said after the game he called up to the press box to ask his offensive staff, “Hey, do you think we could call that play more?” said Bennett, smiling. “It’s the first time for our offensive coordinator calling plays and first time for a lot of guys on staff. Everything is going to be fine.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia shuts out Navarre in kickoff classic, takeaways