04/29/2026
GBG!
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: In 2016, a young Blake Peters rode piggyback on Myles Betts as Choctaw celebrated a district championship. Ten years and 10 innings later, Betts was back at Choctaw to watch Peters and his teammates clutch a district title of their own.
For a senior whose family has been stitched into Choctaw for decades, it was the kind of moment you can't script.
Peters grew up right behind the school. His dad, Jeff, was a football star there. His mom, Heather, went there. His brother, Brady, played there. His sister, Brooklyn, teaches there now.
"Bloodline's a big thing," Peters said. "I bleed green from head to toe."
Last week, Peters launched the first home run of his career in Choctaw's 9-0 Sweet 16 win over Baker County, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs. The week prior, he scored the winning run in the Indians' 9-8 extra-innings district title win over Escambia, despite playing through a quad injury most of the season.
"He's no doubt a 100 percent kind of guy," head coach David Weber said. "He'd run through a brick wall for the program."
Off the field, Peters carries the same all-in approach. He’s a National Honor Society member, part of Link Crew, a Choctaw spirit boy this year, and at church every Sunday with his grandparents. He plans to attend the University of West Florida in the fall to study construction management, a path that started with his Uncle Greg Rynearson’s construction class at Pryor Middle School and stuck.
Full story, brought to you by Okaloosa Gas: https://getthecoast.com/athlete-of-the-week-blake-peters-first-career-home-run-a-choctaw-moment-years-in-the-making/