by Thomas Spencer
Thursday night the Florence-Carlton Falcons faced off against the Bigfork Vikings. And, like for much of the season leading up to this game, the Falcons performed well on both sides of the ball. The Falcon defense, “came out at the start” and the “offense played a complete game,” according to head coach Pat Duchien. A pivotal part of that offensive success came from “hitting some long throws” in that game. The Falcon offense is able to spread the field and connect with receivers on deep routes. This action spreads the field and opens running lanes because defenders have to respect the pass. The Falcons certainly are playing like a championship caliber team.
This season’s perfect record has been stunning. A winning record is usually impressive, but what makes this squad different is the margin by which they are dominating opponents. Last week versus Bigfork, 63-26, the week before that against Whitehall/Harrison, 54-7, the week before that 45-7 versus Loyola. The Falcons have not only maintained an 8-0 season thus far but have done so convincingly.
Perhaps 10 years in the making, after Thursday night’s win against Bigfork, the Falcons are well positioned heading into the first round of the Class “B” playoffs starting next weekend. The last four years the Falcons have explored ever deeper into post-season play and this year seems to be the one for the team, but, after talking with head coach Pat Duchein, their success is most likely attributed to a different mindset. Duchein explained that the goal is to go “1-0 this week.” Meaning, the Falcons are concerned with the games that they can control on the weeks that they occur. They are going to take this season one week at a time.
“We are not changing anything up this week, we’re putting all our focus and energy on Cut Bank,” said coach Duchien about next week’s matchup. Official brackets have not been published as of press time but it is likely the Falcons will take on the Cut Bank Wolves on Saturday.
Cover photo: Falcon team celebrates Jace Petersen’s (#22) interception. Photo by Stephanie K Geiser Photography.