Florence lost to Fairfield, 55-20, in Class B quarter final action. Fairfield is the defending state champion and has not lost in the second round playoff game since 2014.
Florence coach Pat Duchein said he thought his team didn’t get too nervous about the game. He said they concentrated on just playing their own game. However “Fairfield has a really good team and coach Les Meyer is a great coach. We really got out coached.”
Duchein said his team was very physical and felt that it was probably one of the more physical games Fairfield had played this year. But the Falcons could not come up with a way to stop the Eagle offense and quarterback Keeley Bake. “I feel like I kind of failed to make sure my guys were prepared for an athlete of that caliber of that level.”
While Florence was having trouble containing Bake and the Eagles, the Eagles were finding ways to stymie Florence quarterback Colby Kohlman and Duchein said that really frustrated Kohlman. But sophomore Blake Shoupe stepped up on both offense and defense as did Eli Christiansen.
Florence finished the season with a 7-3 record. All three of their loses have come at the hands of the three undefeated teams still alive in the playoffs, Fairfield, Eureka, and Manhattan.
Already looking at next year, Duchein said this is a special team. “We don’t lose many seniors, only two that are playing. We fill in some holes. This group, the will to win is special.”