The playoffs are four weeks away, but the picture got much clearer on Friday night. Pace and Milton now control their own fates while some are looking to see what happens when both teams square off on Oct. 26 in Milton. The Patriots knocked off the Pensacola Tigers 20-10 on Friday as they improved to 3-0 in District 1-6A. Defensively the Patriots stopped a vaunted Pensacola attack with a punt block, forced turnovers, and a couple of key interceptions. "Our kids and coaches have done a great job on the defensive side of the ball," said Pace head coach Mickey Lindsey. "Offensively we have four guys who can play and you cannot focus on just stopping one. "Each week we have had someone different step up and do the job." Lindsey knows each game is important is a very tough district as his Patriots will travel to Pensacola on Friday to play Escambia High at 7:30 p.m. Escambia improved to 2-1 in district play with a 25-9 win over Washington. They will host the Patriots this Friday at 7:30 p.m. "We have got to play our style of football and do our thing to win," Lindsey said. "We cannot beat ourselves. "Escambia is a very explosive team that plays hard and has a lot of energy," The Gators are currently tied for second in the district with Milton who improved to 2-1 with a 40-28 win over Tate. Despite the score, the Panthers faced a critical gut check as the Aggies scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to challenge Milton. "We had a mental lapse in the game and ended up getting punched in the mouth," said Milton head coach Chafan Marsh. "Our kids showed their mental toughness as they came back to add a late touchdown and put the game away." This Friday the Panthers will host Gulf Breeze for homecoming. Despite losing their last two game, Marsh and company know not to take the Dolphins lightly. "They beat us at their place last year," Marsh said. "Coach (Chris) Nemith does a great job preparing his team and we will have to come ready to play. "I want our kids to enjoy homecoming, but we need them to focus on football for two hours each day during practice as well as on game night." Jay will also be preparing for homecoming, but the Royals are licking some wounds handed to them by the Northview Chiefs in a game where Jay gave up 55 consecutive points. Jay (2-3; 0-1 in District 1-A) led 14-7 when Ashton Dennington caught a 35 yard pass from Tate Upton, but that would be the last time the Royals got on the board. "We have got a chance to do something positive this season," said Jay head coach Kent Smith. "We just need to get back to doing a better job with our running game and blocking." After the loss to the Chiefs, Jay has some questions heading into Friday's game, but Smith was not sure to what extent the injury bug has effected the Royals. Kickoff for Friday's game against Cottondale, Ala. will be at 7 p.m.
District 1 6-A Team Overall District Pace 5-1 3-0 Milton 4-2 2-1 Escambia 3-3 2-1 Pensacola 2-2 1-1 Pine Forest 2-2 1-1 Washington 1-4 0-2 Tate 0-5 0-3
District 2 6-A Navarre 5-1 2-0 Ft. Walton 5-1 2-0 Choctaw 2-4 1-1 Niceville 3-3 1-2 Crestview 2-4 0-1 Mosley 3-3 0-2
District 1 5-A West Florida 6-0 2-0 Gulf Breeze 3-2 1-1 Arnold 2-3 1-1 Bay 2-2 0-1 Rutherford 1-5 0-1
District 1 1-A Northview 4-2 1-0 Freeport 3-3 1-0 Baker 3-3 0-1 Jay 2-3 0-1
Week 6 Scores Milton 40, Tate 28 Pace 20, Pensacola 10 Northview 62, Jay 14 West Florida 37, Gulf Breeze 14 Catholic 29, Florida High 26 Navarre 21, Chochtaw 17 Escambia 25, Washington 9 Niceville 42, Mosley 10 Fort Walton Beach 21, Crestview 17 Freeport 41, Baker 34
Local games of interest – Week 7 Pace at Escambia – 7:30 p.m. Gulf Breeze at Milton – 7:30 p.m. Cottondale (Ala.) at Jay – 7 p.m. Tate at Pensacola High – 7:30 p.m. Washington at Pine Forest – 7:30 p.m. Crestview at Choctaw – 7 p.m. Sneads at Baker – 7 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Controlling gridiron fate