The Fort Walton Beach Vikings boys soccer team isn’t just heading back to the Final Four — they’re heading back with an entire community behind them.
On Wednesday morning, the multipurpose room at Fort Walton Beach High School was packed with students, staff, parents and community members as the Vikings received a sendoff fit for the moment. The crowd cheered the team on as they boarded the bus bound for DeLand, where they’ll face American Heritage in the Class 4A state semifinals Thursday at 4 p.m. at Spec Martin Stadium.
- The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office escorted the bus out, while the Fort Walton Beach Fire Department gave the Vikings a water cannon salute from a ladder truck as they departed.
It’s the second consecutive year the Vikings have made the trip to the Final Four — a feat that, before last season, the program hadn’t accomplished in four decades. But head coach Mario Rodriguez said this year’s team is carrying a different energy.
“We’re here a year later, same spot, Final Four — with a different mindset,” Rodriguez said. “Last year was new, so the boys were nervous. Now we know the expectations.”
That confidence didn’t come easily. Rodriguez admitted that early in the season, the path back to the state semifinals wasn’t clear.
- “At the beginning of the season, we were looking at this and we’re like, we don’t know if we’re going to make it to the Final Four,” Rodriguez said. “It’s the culture here that we have at Fort Walton, and these guys were going to put their bodies, everything they have, on the line to make it to the Final Four. And that’s what they did.”
The Vikings navigated the season with a next-man-up mentality. Without a set formation or a locked-in starting lineup, players competed for their spots daily in practice.
“Anyone can win a position,” Rodriguez said. “Some people started some games, some people didn’t start the next game. It’s the culture that we have here — everyone has potential to be part of the team and make the team better.”
What has impressed Rodriguez most is the hunger that carried over from last season’s Final Four loss. Underclassmen who were part of that run came back with a singular focus.
“I had some juniors and sophomores on the team last year, including some freshmen. They were not satisfied after that loss we took last year,” Rodriguez said. “They were hungry. They wanted to get back, and at the beginning of the season, they said we had one thing in mind — making it to the Final Four. No matter how we get there.”
Rodriguez said the leadership hasn’t come solely from the senior class. The juniors and sophomores have stepped up in a major way, pushing the entire roster forward.
- “They’re the guys that are saying, ‘Hey, we’re not done yet. Seniors, this is not your last practice. This is not your last game. We’re going to continue,'” Rodriguez said. “And that’s where we’ve been.”
The Vikings will take Thursday morning to prepare, with breakfast, film study and a team talk before heading to Spec Martin Stadium for the 4 p.m. kickoff. Rodriguez said the later start time is a welcome change from last year’s 1 p.m. game, giving the team more time to prepare mentally.
