Sports

David Torres of Shalimar said he was not fazed by the approaching boat’s warning – “Shark!” His family has seen many sharks in the waters of Gulf County, where they have been coming to scallop for more than a decade, and he had never heard of any shark attacks in the area. But the next sentence…

It was an afternoon of Franklin County Proud of its All-Star teams, from its littlest Darlings to the Team Florida boys to the older traveling ball Sandlot squad. In a spirited parade Sunday afternoon through the streets of Apalachicola, led by Police Chief Bobby Varnes, with the ballplayers riding high atop the Apalachicola fire trucks…

A review of boating accident statistics for 2020, issued earlier this summer by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, shows that both Franklin and Gulf counties had a pretty safe, but by no means, perfect year. The Boating Accident Statistical Report report by the Division of Law Enforcement showed each county had five reportable…

They call themselves Sandlot for a reason and it’s not to puff up their chests and brag about being elite. Instead, it’s because this team is down to the red clay earth, a group of Franklin County boys who have grown up together, swung their bats together and played together. They’re not like the All-Star…

Tiger Woods, who became his own cautionary tale, made his redemptive comeback in 2019 when he won the Masters. It had been 3,950 days since his last major win. It was probably the best comeback story in sports, and one the nation universally cheered. Sadly, his recent crash into a tree doing 87 mph on…

The weather was a bit uncooperative, so it was delayed a couple weeks, but with July came the start of the newest artificial reef off the Franklin County coastline. The Buddy Ward Memorial Artificial Reef, named after a longtime leader of the area’s seafood industry, was deployed successfully on July 1 to its one-nautical-mile square…

Sometimes, it’s the littlest ones that make the biggest sound. The Dixie Youth League Franklin County All Stars in the Darling division, for ages 7-8, emerged victorious at last week’s district tournament in Bristol. “We never left the winners bracket with a 3-0 record to be district champs,” said Leigh Sheridan, head coach of a…

Softball and baseball were the highlight of the spring sports at last month’s all-sports banquet at Franklin County High School. The baseball program, under the direction of Kevin Cox, advanced to the regional playoffs for the first time in the school’s history, a journey that included defeating Port St. Joe in the regular season, and…

Abby Johnson is headed to Gulf Coast State College to play softball for the Lady Commodores. The longtime veteran of the diamond, the lone senior on a team of young players this past season, Johnson inked a deal in February to play softball nest season for Scot Thomas, the former Virginia Tech coach now in…

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission and UF/IFAS Extension – Florida Sea Grant have partnered to implement an innovative community-driven effort to restore scallop populations, and we need your help! “Scallop Sitter” volunteers are trained to assist in Bay, Gulf and Franklin Counties. The goal of the program is to increase scallop populations in…