I apologize for not posting my picks last week. I hope some of you missed them. It was a hectic week at the Daily News, and in our sports department with the loss of Sports Editor Perry Ballard.

I assure you, we will do everything we can to stay the course he set us on during his eight years leading our department.

But now is playoff time. And as the second season begins, hope springs eternal in the late fall.

We only have three teams in the playoffs so it won’t take long to run down the games.

Game one is in the Class 4A playoffs where District 2-4A runnerup Navarre travels to Pace to take on the Patriots.

There is no coach in this area I respect more than Larry Olson at Navarre. I think he’s done a great job in getting the Raiders to the playoffs the last two years.

The problem the Raiders face is they might be playing the best Class 4A team in the state. The Patriots might only be ranked No. 5, but I won’t be surprised if they run the table and win it all.

Aaron Munoz is a great quarterback, Riley Hawkins a super receiver. Tight end Vance Smith is the real deal as is running back Airi Johnson.

On paper, the Patriots look unbeatable. But the game isn’t going to be played on paper.

Navarre quarterback Austin Grimm has thrown for about 900 yards the last three games. He has plenty of weapons to throw to as well in Chris Weaver, Jett Bryan, Kyle Irby, Keith Munday and Josh Brooks.

Running back Michael Pettus provides a spark out the backfield.

If the Raiders can spread the ball around and keep the Patriot defense on its heels they have a chance.

I’m still picking Pace in this one though. But I think it will be closer than a lot of people believe. I see the Patriots winning 31-21.

Milton at Fort Walton Beach is the other Class 4A playoff game.

The Panthers upended the Vikings 31-14 in week one, but there is a lot of water under the bridge since then.

Sophomore quarterback Luke Barnes was making his first start for the Vikings and playing on the road. Barnes is quickly maturing into one of the top quarterbacks in the area.

The Vikings also were missing some other key players on both sides of the ball in the previous meeting.

Fort Walton Beach is fairly healthy now. Defensively, the Vikings are coming off a game when they held the high-powered Niceville offense to a single touchdown.

The Vikes will need a similar effort against Milton’s Dustin Land and friends. But playing in the friendly confines of Steve Riggs Stadium should pay big dividends.

I like the Vikings in a close one here. Fort Walton Beach 17-13 in a defensive struggle.

In Class 5A Niceville will host Neptune Beach Fletcher.

Eagle quarterback Josh McDorman is putting up an MVP type year with more than 1,600 yards passing and 17 touchdowns against three picks. He’s also rushed for more than 300 yards so the Senators can’t key on the pass. As a team, the Eagles have a near perfectly balanced attack.

Unlike the Eagles, the Senators will have a simple game plan — give the ball to tailback Deschion Baskerville. Baskerville has 1,600 yards rushing this year, and is coming off a 300-yard effort last week.

If the Eagles can slow Baskerville they should win the game.

I believe they will. And after a sub-par effort on the offensive end agaisnt Fort Walton Beach, I think Niceville will get back on track.

Playing at home will definitely benefit Niceville in this one. I don’t know how Baskerville will run after riding a bus across the state.

I like the Eagles at home 35-21.

Let the playoffs begin.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 16th, 2007 at 12:28 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.