by Scott Sacry
The Florence Falcon football team is headed to the Class B State Championship game for the third straight year. They punched their ticket on Saturday, Nov. 11th by defeating a tough and previously undefeated Red Lodge team, 40-26, on a sunny day at Whalen Field in Florence.
Both teams had dominated their opponents this season, so something had to give.
Florence’s Head Coach Pat Duchien told his team before the game, “Whoever punches the hardest and the longest is going to win.” How each team responded to adversity did a lot to determine the outcome of the game.
In the first quarter, it looked like the game could go either way as both offenses had trouble moving the ball. Florence made the first mistake, botching a punt return, which Red Lodge recovered and scored on in the resulting drive. The Falcons responded and scored on their next drive, with Florence’s Ethan Alexander rushing from 3 yards out to even the score 7-7 early in the 2nd quarter.
Red Lodge came right back and scored on their next drive, taking a 14-7 lead. Florence looked to answer, but their next drive stalled and they had to punt.
This was the decisive moment of the game.
Red Lodge looked to get the ball back and potentially score again to take a two score lead, but Red Lodge fumbled the punt return and Florence recovered it and got the ball back. With seven minutes left in the half, and Florence trailing 7-14, the Falcons now faced real adversity.
They would score the next 33 points in the game.
After the Red Lodge fumble, Florence’s Drew Wagner capped off the drive with a 7-yard TD run. Florence’s defense stopped Red Lodge on their next drive, got the ball back, and Florence’s Gabriel Hartsell-Miller blasted up the middle for a 51-yard TD run. Florence now led 20-14. To end the half, Red Lodge fumbled the ball with 32 seconds left and Florence quickly got into field goal range and Florence’s Cole Fowler booted a 37-yard field goal as time expired. The Falcons led 23-14 going into half, but at this point it still felt like anyone’s game.
The Falcons got the ball first after halftime and promptly drove it down the field and Florence’s QB Mason Arlington scored on a 12-yard run to extend the lead to 30-14. Florence’s defense stopped Red Lodge on 4th down on Red Lodge’s first drive of the 2nd half, then Florence settled for a field goal and led 33-14 going into the 4th quarter. With 9:40 left in the game, Florence picked off a Red Lodge pass, then drove down the field and Arlington scored on a 1-yard TD run to make it 40-14.
Red Lodge added two touchdowns late in the 4th quarter to make the final score closer. Coach Duchien didn’t like giving up those last two TDs. “If we want to be State Champions we have to be able to finish, and we didn’t finish how we should have against Red Lodge. That’s something we need to work on.”
Florence racked up 509 yards of total offense, including 331 yards rushing. RB Gabriel Hartsell-Miller had a monster game, rushing for 233 yards and scoring a TD. QB Mason Arlington passed for 178 yards and ran for 77 yards and 2 TDs. WR Tyler Abbott caught 5 passes for 77 yards. Ethan Alexander and Drew Wagner each ran for a TD.
Florence will play Manhattan in the State Championship game in Manhattan on Saturday, Nov. 18th at 1 p.m. Unlike the last two years, the Falcons will have to win on the road if they want to take the title – Florence won their last two State Championship games at home.
“I think it’s great that we have to go on the road next week,” said Duchien. “The last two times we won at home, so Florence has never won a State Championship on the road. It’s going to be a real challenge for our guys. It gives them a chance to create their own legacy, to create their own history.”
Manhattan is 11-1 on the season and is coming off a 24-7 state semifinal victory over Boulder. Manhattan’s only loss this year came early in the season against Loyola in overtime and since then they have rolled through their competition.