On Thursday, Niceville coach John Hicks had hoped to see a “crisp” outing from his team in the Eagles’ kickoff classic game against Booker T. Washington.

But by the time Friday night’s kickoff arrived — with a day-long deluge still pouring down from the skies — the forecast appeared bleak.

Niceville and Washington’s first-string varsities trudged through a soggy half of football at Eagle Stadium, with Wildcats’ kicker Tyler Hamblin’s 24-yard field goal proving to be the only points scored by either side.

Jalen DeBonis, Niceville’s starting junior varsity quarterback, ran for a pair of touchdowns and freshman running back Demetrius Davis scampered 60 yards for another score to give Niceville an eventual 20-3 win.

During the varsity portion of the night, however, Niceville’s offensive possessions unfolded thusly: punt, punt, punt, turnover on downs, turnover on downs.

On its first offensive series of the night, Niceville displayed a hard-nosed ground attack. Running back Spencer Pullen gashed the Wildcats’ defense for 15 yards on three carries while fullback Marquis Pratt picked up 7 yards on two carries. But as would be the case all night, Niceville’s drive would eventually stall when quarterback Kyle McDorman’s roll-out pass on third-and-8 zipped behind receiver Mikel Belcher.

Offensively, that was as good as it got for the Eagles.

Pullen led Niceville with 24 yards on six carries. In total, the Eagles managed just 90 yards of total offense.

McDorman, who missed on each of his first six pass attempts and ended the night feeling the wrath of a relentless Wildcat pass rush, ended just 2-of-9 for 19 yards and was sacked three times.

Washington’s lone scoring drive came on its second possession.

Taking over at the Niceville 48, Wildcats’ running back Patrick Hall ran for 12 yards before fellow backfield mate Adrian Brewer picked up gains of 9 and 4 yards on consecutive runs. Following an 8-yard run up the middle by Brewer, Washington had a fresh set of downs at the Eagle 12.

Washington would reach the 4, but Niceville’s defense would tighten up, stuffing quarterback Dejon Funderburk on consecutive runs and forcing the Wildcats to settle for the field goal just 24 seconds before the end of the quarter.

Niceville’s first completion of the night didn’t occur until the 4:45 mark in the second quarter.