Imagine, if you will, going into the biggest game of the season after a 14 day lay off. That’s what the coaching staff of Florence had to imagine, process, and figure out how to implement tactics to keep their Falcons improving without having actual, in person, practices. The day after their last game, which was against Corvallis, the Florence football team had to go into quarantine. It was fortunate that Florence had a bye last week so they didn’t miss an actual game.
Florence, with a record of 7-1, had to do Zoom practices and the coaches had to rely upon the determination of their players to keep in shape since no contact was allowed. Many of the plays the Falcons runs, whether passing or rushing, are intricate routes that require a lot of repetitions to get the timing down. It’s a bit difficult to do that while practicing alone in the front yard.
The opening game of the Class B post season for the Falcons was against Conrad, the No. 4 seed from the North. Even though the first quarter was a bit shaky for the Falcons and there were a few mistakes including a safety on Florence, and a lot of penalties, the Falcons did settle down and went on to win, 27-8. The safety occurred when Florence QB Patrick Duchein was sacked in the end zone by the Cowboys.
Duchein came back from the safety and made a quick pass to Tristan Pyette who raced 80 yards for the score and the lead. It wasn’t long before Conrad scored their only touchdown of the game, but they were unable to convert on a 2-point play and so only had a one point lead.
Duchein and company went to work in the second half. He zeroed in on Blake Shoupe for a scoring pass which put the Falcons back in the lead. Looking to add to their lead in the fourth quarter, Duchein called upon Luke Maki to be his target and locked in another Falcon score. The final score of the game was a push through by Pyette for the final touchdown.
Florence will host Broadwater (Townsend) in the quarterfinals. Townsend is the No. 2 seed from the South. That game will begin at 1pm.