by Scott Sacry
At the start of the 2022 season, Florence’s head coach Pat Duchien had said, “We challenged this year’s team to not ride on the coattails of last year’s team. They need to create their own identity for 2022.” If you have to choose an identity, the 2022 Class B State Champions is as good as any.
The Florence-Carlton Falcons (11-2) defeated the Missoula Loyola Rams (7-5) 48-7 on a cold and sunny day to win the Class B State Championship on Saturday, November 19th. The Falcons successfully defended last year’s title and are now back-to-back State Champions. The first half went back and forth with neither team dominating, but starting from the end of the second quarter, Florence exploded for 34 straight points to gain the lopsided victory.
Senior QB Patrick Duchien had a fitting end to a stellar high school career. He had six total touchdowns on the day, throwing for five and running for another. When the team needed a big play, he was there to make it. Senior RB Brodie Hinsdale had a huge game, catching three touchdowns passes. Senior WR William Wagner and junior WR Tyler Abbott each caught TD passes. Florence’s offensive line deserves immense credit for their outstanding pass protection for Duchien. The starters on the offensive line are Lance Burrows, Sean Larson, Arie McLaughlin, Jonathan Luhmann, and Jared Weaver. “Those guys did a heck of a job and deserve all the credit in the world,” said Duchien.
The key moment in the game came with 1:39 seconds left in the 2nd quarter. Florence was up 14-7, but faced a 4th and 10 at the 50 yard line. They set up in punt formation with Duchien standing next to the punter; the snap came to Duchien and he passed it to junior Ethan Alexander who rumbled down the field for a first down. “We knew they were going to bring the house to try and block the punt, so it was a perfect call and the players executed it,” said Duchien. The Falcons then scored with 29 seconds left in the half on a 14 yard pass from Duchien to William Wagner to increase Florence’s lead to 21-7.
Before the fake punt the game was still up for grabs; after it, Florence had all the momentum. From this point on they would score five unanswered touchdowns and outscore Loyola 34-0.
Coach Duchien said, “I’ve never been around a team that works as hard as this one to get better every week.” The road to the championship was bumpy for Florence, with losses to Jefferson and Bigfork. But after the Bigfork loss and as the playoff moved forward, you could see this team grow stronger and stronger. And it all culminated on Saturday against rival Loyola with the Falcons dominating the Rams in virtually every aspect of the game.
“As this team goes down in history, they will be remembered for their relentlessness,” said coach Duchien. “They were relentless in their drive, they were relentless in the preparation, they were relentless in their effort. In the second half of the game it was this relentlessness that propelled them forward.”
For most of the first half it was a close game. Florence took their first drive down the field and scored on a 28 yard pass from Duchien to Hinsdale to take an early 7-0 lead. Florence’s defense then forced a punt and got the ball back. They drove down the field, but turned it over on downs. Loyola then took their second drive 70 yards for their lone score of the game, making the score 7-7 with 11 minutes left in the second quarter. Florence quickly responded, as a big reception by Tyler Abbott set up another Duchien to Hinsdale TD reception to make the score 14-7. After trading punts, Florence faced a 4th and 10 at midfield with 1:39 left and did the aforementioned fake punt, after which Duchien hit William Wagner on a 14 yard pass with 29 seconds in the half to take the 21-7 lead. Loyola fumbled on their next possession and, with 9 seconds left in the half, Caleb Brossman came down with a spectacular grab in the back of the endzone, but was out of bounds and the first half ended.
The third quarter proved decisive. The Falcon defense forced a punt on Loyola’s first possession. They got the ball back, and quickly moved down the field, with Duchien hitting Abbott for a 23 yard touchdown, extending the lead to 28-7. On Loyola’s next drive, William Wagner intercepted a pass, giving Florence the ball back. A long Duchien pass to Drew Wagner set up a 1 yard Duchien TD run. Florence now led 35-7. Once again, Florence’s defense stopped Loyola on their next drive, setting up another Falcon scoring drive. A big catch by Ryan Winters set up a double reverse TD run by Aspen Goeltz. The score was 41-7 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. Florence again stopped Loyola on their next possession and at the end of the third quarter they got the ball back. This drive ended in another TD pass from Duchien to Hinsdale making the score 48-7, which would prove to be the final score.