FORT WALTON BEACH � Shane Nicholson and Brandon Castelin served them up. Sean Hoffstatter knocked them down.
Showcasing a deft scoring touch in the final third, Hoffstatter made the most of two tailor-made assists and Choctaw celebrated Senior Night and closed out the regular season with a 2-0 win over rival Fort Walton Beach at Joe Etheredge Stadium.
Defensively, the Indians didn�t allow a decent shot on frame all of Friday night. Castelin, Luke Hambleton, Isaiah Hawkins, Peyton Johnson and Colin Shannon didn�t allow anything over the top or out wide, and goalkeepers Jose Mendoza (first half) and Austin Wilson (second half) were never challenged.
Offensively, the only thing prettier than Hoffstatter�s pair of goals were the passes that set them up.
The first came in the 20th minute from Nicholson, who � a night after delivering five assists in an 8-0 win over Bay � took a pass from the Indians� side of the midfield line, beat his man up the left side and belted a left-footer that split a pair of defenders and found Hoffstatter perfectly in stride up the middle. The junior forward made quick of the gift, making two long strides just outside the box before beating Tristan Tietgan inside the right post.
Four minutes later, Hoffstatter provided an encore. And he can thank Castelin.
Castelin booted a pass that up the right side that looked innocent enough. But it cleared Fort Walton�s drawn-up defenders and, akin to a wideout, Hoffstatter ran stride for stride with the pass, collected it and beelined toward the goal for an easy right-footer to stake the Indians to a 2-0 lead.
From there, Choctaw put it on cruise control en route to a 2-0 halftime lead before emptying its bench in the second half.
With their respective district tournaments on the horizon, it would have been easy for Choctaw and Fort Walton Beach to dismiss Friday night�s regular-season finale.
After all, no postseason implications were on the line. But that�s not how rivalries work. Bragging rights aren�t always necessitated by deeper meanings, and after their first matchup was canceled, the bragging rights grew.
Taking ownership of those rights was Choctaw, which dominated from the start with a shot on goal in the first minute and never relinquished control.
The Indians will look to continue the momentum next week.
Added Hoffstatter, �This district is tough. We have Gulf Breeze and Washington to worry about, but if we play like we currently are we should be able to win district.