by Scott Sacry
The Florence Falcon football team defeated a spirited Columbus Cougars team 28-8 on Saturday to punch their ticket to the Class B State semi-final game. Florence junior quarterback Patrick Duchien ran for a 1-yard touchdown and threw a 16-yard touchdown to senior tight end Luke Maki, while senior running back Tristan Pyette scored on runs of 1-yard and 20-yards.
The game was closer than the score would suggest, as the Falcons held a slim 14-8 lead going into the fourth quarter. The final period proved to be the difference as Florence scored twice.
The Falcon defense had their hands full with Columbus’s wishbone offense, but proved up to the task, making timely plays and stopping the Cougars on multiple fourth downs.
In the opening possession of the game, the Falcon defense stopped Columbus on fourth down, then put together a scoring drive, aided by a Duchien pass to senior wideout Blake Shoupe. Duchien capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run and Florence led 6-0 after the PAT was
unsuccessful. Later in the first quarter the Falcons defense again stopped the Cougars on fourth down. The Falcons offense then put together another solid drive, highlighted by a crucial 4th down conversion and a long Duchien pass to Maki. Pyette scored on a 1-yard run and the two-point conversion was good to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead.
The hard-fighting Cougars took their next drive 60 yards and scored on a Caden Meier to Colby Martinez 15-yard pass. A successful 2-point conversion made the score 14-8 with 5 minutes left in the half. With the first half winding down, Columbus stopped the Falcons on fourth down, then their offense moved the ball into Florence territory, threatening to score. Florence’s defense made yet another huge 4th down stop to keep their 14-8 halftime lead intact.
In the third quarter both teams played solid defense and neither team scored, leaving Florence with a narrow 14-8 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Falcons’ offense completed their most important drive of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, culminating with Duchien connecting with Maki for a 16-yard TD pass, giving the Falcons some breathing room and a 21-8 lead. On Columbus’s following possession the Falcon defense stopped the Cougars and forced a punt, aided by a huge sack by junior end Colten Rice and a pass deflection by Duchien. The Falcons’ offense then put together another scoring drive, highlighted by big catches by Pyette and senior wideout Levi Posey. A determined Pyette sealed the win with a 20-yard touchdown run with 2:35 left in the game. The successful PAT gave the Falcons a 28-8 lead.
On the Cougars final possession, the Falcon defense once again stopped the Cougars on fourth down, punctuating their strong overall defensive performance.
Coach Pat Duchien was proud of how his players responded during the close game. “What I think was really cool was you didn’t see any panic from our kids,” said Duchien. “At half-time we told them they just needed to settle down and play their game. Then we got to the fourth quarter and they
said, ‘Ok, let’s take this one over’… and that’s what they did.”
Florence (10-0) will host Jefferson (7-3) for the Class B state semi-final next Saturday at 1pm.