Playoff-bound Choctawhatchee to close out district play

FORT WALTON BEACH — Choctawhatchee football coach Greg Thomas wouldn’t need to dig deep in the film vault to pluck a game where the Indians underperformed against an inferior opponent, a situation that will present itself again tonight.

Two weeks ago, Choctaw came out flat against struggling Washington, fell behind 16-0 and had to rally for a 28-23 victory that required a defensive stand at the end. But that was a critical District 1-3A game, helping to make sure the Indians clinched a postseason spot after last week’s 35-0 stomping of Bay.

Against visiting Gulf Breeze (0-8, 0-6 District 1-3A) tonight in the teams’ district finales, the Indians (5-3, 5-1) won’t have to worry about league ramifications. They’re in the playoffs. On top of that, archrival Fort Walton Beach is on deck.

Those are two primary reasons why Choctaw could get sidetracked, but the Indians insist there are motivating factors when the Dolphins arrive for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

“It doesn’t mean anything, but it does,” wide receiver Justin Savage said. “Our last home game was a poor performance. We want to come out and give our fans a great show and show what kind of team we have and keep this thing rolling.

“ … No matter their record or our record, it’s a big game … We want to go into the playoffs with a head of steam.”

Savage conceded that one of Choctaw’s main goals this season is to beat Fort Walton Beach. He said the Indians have tried to put the Vikings on the backburner by not bringing them up.

“No one is trying to talk about Fort Walton this week, just focus on Gulf Breeze,” Savage said. “Our whole game-plan is focusing on them.”

And Thomas knows what could happen if that focus wavers.

“I’m hoping we learned a lesson from the Washington game,” he said. “When we just show up, we’re not a very good football team … Gulf Breeze is going to come in with nothing to lose and they’re going to play hard, and they’ve moved the ball on everybody they’ve played.”