As Tate was marching down the field for a game-winning drive late in the final minutes against Pine Forest in both teams’ kickoff classic, Aggies head coach Rhett Summerford asked senior kicker Ethan Priest about his range.
Priest, who just started learning the position last year, said he was good from anywhere inside the 40-yard line. Fortunately for Tate, the Aggies drive started at the Pine Forest 35-yard line, and Priest nailed a 21-yard field goal as time expired to give Tate a 17-14 win.
In just over a year of kicking, Priest has hit three game-winning field goals, with the first two coming against Booker T. Washington and Escambia in the 2025 regular season.
“I knew that he was going to make that chip shot,” Summerford said of Priest. “When the pressure’s on, he usually makes the kick.”
Priest’s kick ended a kickoff classic where both varsity teams played the second half. The freshman teams played the first quarter, while the JV teams played the second quarter.
Tate senior running back Ethan Pittman’s 11-yard touchdown was the lone score in the third quarter before the flood gates opened in the final frame. Pine Forest quarterback Jacorie Thomas cut the Aggies lead to 7-6 with a seven-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter, then Pittman answered with a seven-yard touchdown to put the Aggies in front 14-6.
Pine Forest answered to tie the game 14-14 as Thomas ran for a nine-yard touchdown then found Tulane commit Korden Randle for the two-point conversion.
Here’s what else to know from the scrimmage.
Special teams loom large
It wasn’t just Priest’s kick that made the difference. Both teams had their ups and downs on special teams.
Priest missed his first extra point of the night, but Tate was called for a false start and he converted after Pine Forest accepted the penalty to move back the kick five yards. Summerford wanted to see Priest punt better too, though one of his short punts in the fourth quarter was muffed by Pine Forest muffed the punt and recovered by Joseph Soho to set up the Aggies second touchdown.
The Eagles also allowed two long kickoff returns and were called for a personal foul on the last one, setting up a short field for Tate’s game-winning drive. Pine Forest also missed an extra point in the third quarter.
“I like the fact that we were courageous enough to go for the return on a bad kick,” Pine Forest head coach Kerry McDowell said. “If he picks it up, there was no one in front of him for the next 70 yards. He muffed the ball and that was the difference in the game, a turnover down in their red zone and that’s what gave them the win.”
Good test for both defenses
The two teams were supposed to play in a kickoff classic last year, but it was cancelled due to weather.
This year’s matchup gave both defenses the test they needed after replacing a lot of talent from stingy units in 2025.
For the Eagles, they faced a run heavy Aggies squad with a big offensive line led by FIU commit Darell Villanueva, a good challenge for a defense that returns one starter in the front seven from a year ago. Tate marched down the field easily on the opening drive, but Jeremiah Bolden intercepted a pass on the next drive. The Aggies grinded out their last two drives as Pine Forest tired from playing a lot of snaps.
It only gets tougher for Pine Forest next week against a Booker T. Washington squad that may have the best offensive skill position talent in the Pensacola area.
“With Washington’s ability, golly, you just try to slow them down,” McDowell said. “They’ve had so many kids move in it’s going to be hard to defend them all.”
Tate’s defense got to match up against a veteran Pine Forest offense with plenty of speed. Senior quarterback Jacorie Thomas was decisive in both the running and passing game, while senior wide receiver and Tulane commit Korden Randle and junior three-star tight end Kemarion Jordan showed why they’ll be playing on Saturdays with big catch-and-runs.
“They’re huge,” Summerford. “(Jordan), I was just hoping someone would tackle him. Then they got speed at quarterback, which is really, really tough. But I’ll tell you this, we needed a test for the jamboree. Missed out on it last year and I was really proud that we got it in this year. We’re a little battle tested now.”
Heavy load for Ethan Pittman
With junior running back Tanner Clark not dressing for the scrimmage, the senior running back got over carry for the Aggies tonight, racking up over 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Pittman followed his blocks all night, then showed some shiftiness on his two touchdowns run. Clark will be back next week when Tate opens its season against Marianna, creating quite a 1-2 punch for opponents to handle.
The pair combined to run for 2,268 yards and 23 touchdowns a year ago and now are a whole year older and stronger.
“We got two of them and I think they’re both very special,” Summerford said.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Tate edges Pine Forest 17-14 in kickoff classic, takeaways