Fresh off an opening-round playoff loss to Booker T. Washington last year, Choctaw boys soccer already looks like a much-improved team. With a 6-1-1 record, the Indians appear to be legitimate state championship contenders — and they’re doing it while overcoming significant adversity.
- Head coach Chris McDaniel required surgery before the season, leading assistant coach Travis Rovillo to step into the interim role. Then, during a preseason game against Niceville, senior captain Chris Cruz tore his ACL, ending his season and high school career.
Rather than derailing the Indians, the circumstances have brought the team closer together.
“These guys have been playing together since their freshman year. This was our young group, this is the group we’ve kind of been waiting for at Choctaw,” Rovillo said. “They’re playing for Coach McDaniel because they know he wants to be out here, and that’s kind of our lifeblood right now.”
After opening the season with a tie against Niceville, Choctaw rattled off four straight wins over Navarre, Mosley, Crestview and Destin — all by multiple goals. A 3-1 loss to Gulf Breeze snapped the streak, but the Indians responded with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over archrival Fort Walton Beach, a team that reached the Final Four last season.
- Choctaw’s most dominant performance came in a 6-0 rout of West Florida, with six different players finding the back of the net. That match also marked the return of Jamaarie Alcide, last year’s leading goal scorer, who had been playing football.
Kameron Kestner and Malloy Hansen have been the primary offensive catalysts during Alcide’s absence, while Christian Nelson and Andrew Rynearson anchor a solid defense. Goalkeeper Dominic Richards has been steady between the posts.
“Andrew Rynearson stepped up big time and filled his spot,” Rovillo said of Cruz’s replacement. “Nobody can really fill Chris’s shoes and his leadership, but Andrew knows he had to step up and play for him.”
Rivello credits the senior leadership of Nelson and Hansen for the team’s success. Nelson, who converted from center midfielder to center back, has become a vocal presence, while Hansen helps keep the squad focused.
- “They’ve really matured a lot this year. This was a really immature group a few years ago, but they’ve grown up together,” Rovillo said. “They’ve come to bring this county something they haven’t had for a long time.”
As for areas of improvement, Rovillo wants to see his team come out stronger from the opening whistle.
“We’re a little lackadaisical at the beginning, then we start getting some emotion after 10-15 minutes,” he said. “If we want to go far, we’re going to need to come out and play like we do the last 10-15 minutes of a game.”
If Choctaw continues playing at this level, the program’s first state championship since 2015 could be within reach.
