by Scott Sacry
The Florence Falcons hosted the Fairfield Eagles in a “birds of prey” showdown in the first round of the Class B State football playoffs on Saturday, November 2. The Falcons, #3 in the final 406mtsports.com poll, fell behind early but quickly found their footing and rolled to a 56-20 victory.
Florence, the three-time defending Class B State Champion, has now won 13 straight playoff games. Their last playoff loss was to Fairfield, an 8-6 state semifinal loss on November 14, 2021.
Early in Saturday’s game it looked like the visiting Eagles might be able to repeat history as Fairfield jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter.
But that was as far as Fairfield’s upset bid would go, as Florence’s offense scored seven, that’s right, seven straight touchdowns and, with the help of a suffocating defense, pulled away for the lopsided 36-point victory.
Florence QB Mason Arlington continued his strong play, completing 14 of 17 passes for 238 yards and throwing a whopping 6 touchdowns. Florence’s Drew Wagner had 5 receptions for 111 yards and 2 touchdowns, Wagner also had 9 tackles on defense. Bridger Alexander had 4 catches for 61 yards and 2 touchdowns. On defense Alexander was a force of nature with 9 tackles including 4 tackles for a loss. Isaac Bates and Levi Winters each had a touchdown reception.
Falcon RB Jake Schneiter ran strong all day and had 15 carries for 110 yards with 2 rushing touchdowns. On defense, Schneiter led the Falcons with 10 tackles.
Florence’s defense calmed down after giving up an early scoring drive and dominated the rest of the game. They allowed Fairfield only 168 total yards (151 passing and 17 rushing). In contrast, Florence’s offense gained a total of 435 yards, rushing for 188 yards and passing for 247.
With the win, Florence advances to the second round of the Class B playoffs where they host #5 Jefferson on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m.
This is a rematch game, as Jefferson defeated Florence 24-21 in the first game of the 2024 season on August 30 in Florence. Since then, Florence has won 9 straight games, while Jefferson has gone 7-2, their two losses being to #1 Manhattan and #2 Malta. It’s unlucky for both teams to play each other so early in the playoffs, but that’s how the bracket ended up.
The winner advances to the semifinals where they will play the winner of the Malta/Three Forks game.
