Bulldogs fall short of lofty goals

A football season that opened with great hope for Crestview to make another run at the playoffs ended with equal disappointment last Friday night.

A veteran Bulldog team featuring 30 seniors kicked off the 2009 campaign on Sept. 4 with a 35-0 win over Baker. They followed that performance with an impressive 42-0 victory over West Gadsden.

Those two victories had long since been forgotten by the time Tate finished off Crestview 44-15 in the season finale.

In between the season-opening wins and final loss, the Bulldogs experienced a roller coaster ride on their way to a 5-5 campaign.

Crestview suffered its first setback of the season in week three when a high-powered Catholic team came to town and led by quarterback Shaun White handed the Bulldogs a 40-20 loss.

A 21-13 win at Navarre was followed by a 26-23 overtime loss to Fort Walton Beach in the District 2-4A opener.

Dawg fans will likely remember the 21-17 win over Milton as the high point of the year. Not only was the come-from-behind victory Crestview’s first over the Panthers since beating them twice in 2002 (both at Jack Foster Stadium) it also was the first Crestview win at Milton in more than 25 years.

The Bulldogs were down 17-14 when they got the ball with less than a minute left in the game.

Quarterback Blake Ritchie directed a perfect drive that covered that covered 60 yards for the winning score, a 30-yard touchdown pass from Ritchie to B. J. McClure.

Ritchie, who wears No. 10, the same number Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton wore, looked like Tarkenton as he scrambled down the right sideline and then threw across his body to a wide open McClure.

The win over Milton gave Crestview a 4-2 record with district foe Mosley coming to town.

Facing a must-win game in district play, the Bulldogs stormed to a 20-0 first quarter lead with Chris Pickett scoring two early touchdowns on his way to a 191-yard rushing performance.

But the Dolphins refused to go away quietly into the October night as they fought back and pulled to within a point at 34-33 with less than a minute left in the game. Mosley recovered an onside kick to help set up a last-second field goal attempt that was partially blocked.

The win over Mosley moved Crestview to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in the district and kept the hopes for a playoff spot alive.

A slide that started in the second half against Mosley continued the rest of the year.

The Bulldogs traveled to Tallahassee on Oct. 30 and lost a 49-36 shootout to Leon.

Niceville, the No. 1 4A team in the state was next as the Bulldogs closed out district play needing to beat the Eagles to force a shootout for a shot at the playoffs.

Niceville beat Crestview 56-38 dropping the Bulldogs to 5-4 before their season-ending loss to Tate.

Pickett finished his senior year scoring 128 points and piling up more than 1,700 yards in total offense. He had 1,250 yards rushing and another 530 receiving yards.