LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) – The Mosley football team will host Niceville for a winner-takes-all District Championship game on Thursday night at Tommy Oliver Stadium.
While Niceville (7-1) is ranked No. 4 in Class 4S and No. 2 in Region 1, Mosley (5-3) still has some work to do.
The Dolphins are currently ranked No. 10 in the region, needing to be in the top eight to earn a playoff bid.
However, a district title earns an automatic ticket to the playoffs. The Dolphins, who are 2-1 in district play, see this matchup with Niceville, who is 3-0, as a must-win to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Mosley Head Coach Tommy Joe Whiddon said it’s a good feeling to know that his team still has control of its own fate.
“Not too many times in life do you get an opportunity for all of your sins to be forgiven for what happened previously in the season,” Whiddon said. “But that opportunity is presented to us and we’ve got to make the most of that opportunity. You know, somebody is going to be knocking at the door and we got to be ready to answer.”
Last season, Mosley found themselves in the same situation, competing with Niceville for the district title, but fell to the Eagles on the road 28-21.
The Dolphins ultimately did not make the playoffs last year.
Coach Whiddon said he is hoping that close loss on the road last year will fuel his team’s confidence in playing at home this season.
“We’re in the exact same situation that we were in last year, records the exact same, playing the exact same team,” Whiddon said. I think the guys, based off how we played them last year, we got a lot of confidence going into the going into the football game. We just got to do a better job, we got to finish. Niceville is a really good football team and we know a lot about them and we expect it to be a really good football game on Thursday night.”
The Dolphins vs. Eagles District Championship game will kick off from Tommy Oliver Stadium at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 26.
