Fort Walton Beach- Clay defeated Ed White in a deluge Tuesday, as a down pour of rain came down in the Class 1A Sweet 16. The Regional Championship was decided with defense, and Clay’s defense shut down an athletic Ed White offense holding them to no points. Cora Parker and Shelby McClain led the team to victory with scoring efforts for Clay as the Blue Devils won 13-0 to advance to the State quarterfinal.
Clay has gotten stronger all year and head coach Jared Moses attributes that to getting the right players at the right time. “Alot of our team are soccer players, and our soccer team went to the regional finals, so it worked in our favor because we were kind of heavy on the back-end”. Clay has a sophomore quarterback and two sophomore receivers, so they are young and hungry.
That youth will help them in years to come, however this year it worked against them facing one of the most experienced teams in the state. Choctaw is the 2x defending FHSAA Class 1A runners-up, with several players with championship experience. Senior Morgan Grace led Choctaw with 685yds receiving and 18 touchdowns this year. Clay would go up early against Choctaw 6-0, however Choctaw’s experienced allowed them to come from behind with the 13-6 victory.
Choctaw (16-1) will face Pembroke Pines Charter (17-3) in the state semifinals 5/10/2024.
