by Scott Sacry
Let’s play with a little analogy. We have two cars, a BMW sedan and a Ford Taurus, they’re seemingly similar in look and size, and going 65 mph down Highway 93, they both perform about the same. Now put both on the Autobahn. The Taurus is going to start shaking at 85 mph and you’ll feel unsafe and unstable as you near 100. The BMW is steady at 85, steady at 95, and as you pass 100 you feel stable as you fly down the road.
The Florence football team has been the BMW of Class B football for the last 3+ years. On the surface, they look the same as any other team, but then the engineering shines through. In this case the engineering is the hard work, execution, and effort from the players, it’s the long hours of preparation and dedication from the coaching staff, it’s the support of community and school administration, and it’s the support of family and friends. This level of success is a quality that’s hard to quantify, but, however you define it, the Florence Football Program has it.
All of this was evident as Florence hosted Baker on Saturday, Oct. 28th in the first round of the Class B football playoffs. The BMW versus the Taurus. At first glance, both teams looked similar on the sidelines. But as the game started and the speeds neared 100, the Falcons flew down the road and the Spartans faltered. Florence dominated in all aspects of the game. Florence led 28-0 after one quarter, 41-0 at half, and 55-0 after three quarters, then they took their foot off the gas and coasted to a 62-0 victory.
Florence QB Mason Arlington threw for 4 TDs, one each to receivers Drew Wagner, Tyler Abbott, Bridger Alexander, and Isaac Bates. Abbott also scooped up a fumble and ran 49 yards for a TD. RB Levi Winters had 2 TD runs and RB Gabriel Hartsell-Miller had one, and in the 4th quarter Jake Schneiter had a 61-yard TD pass to Mattix Chase.
Up next, Florence hosts Columbus on Saturday, Nov. 4th in the second round of the Class B playoff. With only eight teams left, every team is strong and accomplished. To continue our car analogy, Columbus looks to be the Mercedes Benz to Florence’s BMW. The Cougars have rolled through the competition this year and are 8-1 on the season. They are coming off a 54-6 thumping of Cut Bank in their first round matchup. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. in Florence.